Tuesday, September 15, 2020

Show Your True Colors: A Colorful List of Idioms

Color idioms, anyone? Look no further! I just spent a couple hours compiling as many phrases as I could find so you don't have to...thank-you-very-much and you're welcome.

 
RED
Caught red-handed: caught in the act of a misdeed
Seeing red: angry
Beet red: embarrassed and blushing
Red tape: Bureaucratic obstacles or tasks 
Taking the red-eye: late night traveling
Red light: stop
In the red: in debt, losing money
Roll out the red carpet: treat a person or group like royalty
The red-carpet treatment: give special treatment
Paint the town red: spending money on having a good time
Red-headed step-child: treated like the least favorite person
A red herring: a distraction
 
BLUE
Have the blues: melancholy
Feeling blue: sad, moody, depressed
Out of the blue: random chance, a surprise
Once in a blue moon: happenstance, something that rarely happens
Blue collar: manual labor, works with hands, wears overalls to work
Blue-eyed boy: a boy who is the favorite
Blue in the face: frustration
A blue-blood: aristocrat 
True-blue: loyal
A blue streak: moves fast
Blue cloud: profanity
Turn the air blue: saying a litany of swear words
A blue-hair: geriatric, old person
The blue hour: time when sun is below the horizon, either before sunrise or after sunset

YELLOW
Yellow-bellied: cowardly
To be yellow: coward
 
GREEN
Green with envy: to be jealous or envious
Green thumb: having a knack for growing healthy plants
Green light: permission to move forward, approval
Green backs: dollar bills, paper money
The grass is always greener: to covet, always wanting, never happy
Green around the gills: sick, queasy 
Looks green: sick, queasy
To be green: a novice, immature
Green-eyed monster: jealousy

ORANGE
Just peachy: everything is fine
 
PURPLE
Purple prose: flowery language that is excessive and draws attention to itself
Born in the purple: born into royalty

PINK
Tickled pink: delighted
Getting a pink slip: an official dismissal from a job
To see pink elephants: seeing imaginery things
Rosy outlook: optimistic
Rose-colored glasses: seeing things better than they really are
In the pink: in good spirits and good health

BROWN
Brown-nose: to curry favor by excessive obedience or attentiveness
A brown shirt: a Nazi 
Brownie points: an imaginary award for doing good deeds, a people pleaser
Brown-bagging it: bring your own
A brown study: lost in thought
 
BLACK
Black and blue: bruised
Black sheep: a person on the outs with their family
Black out: to faint
Black and white: clear and defined, plain and simple, easy to figure out
Black as night: dark, can't see
Black eye: a bruise around the eye 
Black gold: a valuable item despite its appearance
Black comedy: tragic yet funny
Pot calling the kettle black: hypocrisy
In the black: profitable, making money
A black day: bad things are coming
On the black list: a list of people on the outs
In a black book: rejected or out of favor
Black-balled: to be rejected in secret, a vote against
A black look: angry
Blackmail: a crime, demanding payment to keep secrets
Black-tie: formal dress, formal event 
Pitch black: dark, can't see
Black market: trading illegal goods

WHITE
White lie: a lie told to be polite or alter the truth enough to not get into trouble
White elephant: a possession that is expensive and hard to get rid of
White collar: high paying job, wear a suit to work, desk job 
White livered: cowardly
White as a sheet (ghost): pale, sickly
White flag: retreat, give up, admit defeat
White pain: shooting, hot, neuralgic pain

GRAY
Gray area: undefined and unclear 
Gray matter: brain or thinking
Shades of gray: ambiguous 
Has a gray cloud: pessimistic
 
GOLD 
Golden opportunity: a perfect chance
Good as gold: positive
Heart of gold: generous and kind
Worth your weight in gold: useful and helpful
The golden hour: when the sun is low on the horizon either after sunrise or before sunset
A golden boy: a popular, lucky, successful male
Taking the golden ticket: to swap one's soul for success, making a deal with the devil
 
SILVER
Silver screen: the film industry, Hollywood
Born with a silver spoon in one's mouth: born into a wealthy family
Silver lining: see the good in a bad situation
Silver-tongue: someone who says what others want to hear to persuade them 

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