Color Idioms and Phrases in English

 

Thanks to Stumbleupon, I discovered another great website which includes all the idioms and phrases related to different colors. This piece of information is created by Alan S. Kennedy and he listed all the idioms and phrases, language by language and color by color. You can find tens of languages on the web site but I paste here only the English ones because it is our common point. Since it is a project, I kind of tend to trust it more compared to bilingual online dictionaries 🙂 Maybe I am wrong, I do not know. You can also consult this website when you have a doubt while translating a phrase including colors. I am sure, you will find many idioms/phrases that surprise you. I learned many interesting stuff from this website. I hope you also like it and contribute with your comments. 

white noise	static noise
white as a sheet	scared, sick, surprised
white as a ghost	scared
white-collar	related to “desk jobs”
a white flag	surrender
to whitewash something	to mask the negative parts
white wine	wine from green or yellow grapes
a white Christmas	snow on Christmas day
a white wedding	a traditional western-style wedding where the bride wears a white gown
a white person	a person of Caucasian race
white-hot	extremely hot OR popular
a white paper	an authoritative report on a issue
a white elephant	a useless knick-knack OR an expensive, useless thing
white as the driven snow	innocent (often used sarcastically about corruption)
white with rage	extremely enraged
to bleed someone white	to take everything someone has, esp. money
showing the white feather	acting cowardly
a white-knuckle ride	a dangerous, nerve-wracking, scary ride
that’s mighty white of you (old-fashioned)	that’s good of you
lily-white	unmistakably Caucasian OR blameless, goodly
white horses (surfing)	patches of white foam made by breaking waves
white trash (American)	(offensive) uneducated, socio-economically disadvantaged Caucasian people
whiter than white (British)	righteous, innocent
a white pointer (Australian)	a topless female sunbather
to blackmail someone	to threaten to reveal secrets unless payment is made
black magic / the black arts	magic used for malevolent purposes
the pot calling the kettle black	someone criticizing someone else for a quality they themselves possess
the black market	illegal/underground sales and purchases
little black book	book of contacts, esp. past or potential dates
a black sheep	the outcast or disgrace in a group
black tie	formal clothing e.g. a tuxedo
black humor	jokes about death or illness
a black day	a day when something bad happens
to be in black and white	to be written down officially
to be black and white (a situation)	to be clear
in the black	profitable
a black mood	a bad, grumpy mood
a black eye	a bruised eye
to blacklist someone	to prevent someone from being hired
to blackball someone	to shut someone out from group participation
black and blue	bruised
a black look	an angry/disapproving facial expression
as black as night	very dark black
pitch black	very dark black
a black person	a person of African heritage
black ops	extralegal covert activity, done in the dark (military/politics)
black-hearted	cruel, evil, mean
a black mark	an indication of wrongdoing
to blacken someon’es name	to suggest/indicate a person’s wrongdoing
the Black Death	The Bubonic Plague
Black Friday (U.S.)	The day after American Thanksgiving when many stores have sales
the black dog (Irish)	a bad mood
beyond the black stump (Australian)	the back of nowhere, far from anything
in the red	unproftable OR negative financial balance, owing money
a redhead	a person with orange-colored hair
red light district	area with prostitutes
to see red	to be furious
red with rage	furious
to turn/go red	become embarassed
a red herring	a false clue
to paint the town red	to dine, dance, experience fun in a town or city
a red flag	a signal that something is wrong
roll out the red carpet	give a big welcome
red tape	unnecessary/excessive bureaucracy
not one red cent	no money at all
a red letter day	a special day
a scarlet woman	a sinful woman
scarlet fever	an infection with group A streptococcus bacteria.
red-hot	very hot OR very popular
red card	(soccer) to give someone their final warning
red alert	a serious warning of danger
a red-blooded male	a virile, manly male person
like a red rag/flag to a bull	provoking/aggravating anger
red (adjective)	communist
bleed red ink (British)	debt
red in tooth and claw (British)	the wild, violent aspect of the natural world
redshirting (U.S.)	delaying an athlete’s participation in sports order to lengthen his/her period of eligibility
a red state (U.S.)	a state whose residents are politically more Republican
a redneck (U.S.)	an uneducated, rural white American
a red-bone (U.S.)	a light-skinned black woman
the red eye (U.S.)	the overnight flight between west and east coast
green with envy	very envious
the green-eyed monster	jealousy
to give the green light	to give approval to proceed
to be green (in a position)	to be inexperienced, a rookie
to be green (policy)	to be environmentally aware
the green room	room in a theater or studio where guests/performers wait to go on
to turn green	to be naseous
green around the gills	sick-looking
a greenbelt	an area of nature around a city
greens	vegetables
a green	a golf course
a greengrocer	a person/store that sells vegetables & fruit
the grass is always greener on the other side	other people’s possessions/situations always seem better than your own
to greenwash something	to deceptively make practices/policies seem more environmentally friendly
little green men	stereotypical/humorous description of space aliens
as sure as God made little green apples	very certain
colorless green ideas sleep furiously	(Linguistics) Noam Chomsky’s oft-quoted example of a sentence with good grammar but no meaning
to have green fingers (British)	to be good with plants/gardens
to have a green thumb (U.S.)	to be good with plants/gardens
a greenie (Australian)	an environmentally aware person
a green card (U.S.)	legal residency staus
a greenhorn (U.S.)	an inexperienced or young person
greenbacks (U.S.)	dollars
yellow	cowardly
a yellow streak	cowardice
yellow-bellied	cowardly
yellow journalism	disreputable, sensationalistic journalism
a yellow card	(soccer) to give someone a first warning
the yellow peril	(offensive, archaic) the fear that Asian people will outnumber/displace Caucasian people
a yellow dog Democrat (U.S.)	a voter who always votes Democrat in every election
out of the blue	suddenly, unexpectedly
a bolt from the blue	a sudden/unexpected thing
to be blue	to be sad
a blue funk	a feeling of melancholy
the blues	sadness OR a 3 chord style of music
once in a blue moon	infrequently
blue-collar	related to manual labor or the working class
a blue blood	an aristocratic person
to talk a blue streak	to talk a lot
to turn blue	to have difficulty breathing
blue with cold	feeling very cold
until you’re blue in the face	having lost your patience
blue chip stock	stock of an established/finanically sound company
working blue	performing using foul language
a blue movie	a pornographic film
a blueprint (for something)	a design, a guide
true blue	faithful
blue on blue	in military: friendly fire
into the wide/wild blue yonder	to an unknown/faraway place
blue balls (lewd)	male sexual frustration due to unfulfilled sexual urges
to turn the air blue	to swear a lot
between the devil and the deep blue sea	a dilemma
the boys in blue	the police
the thin blue line	the police
a blue state (U.S.)	a state whose residents are politically more Democrat
a blue (British)	a Tory
to scream blue muder (British)	to express yourself angrily
a blue-eyed boy (British)	a male who can do no wrong, who is favored by authority
having a blue (Australian)	having a fight
make a blue (Australian)	make a mistake
a brown-noser	a sycophant
in a brown study	being contemplative; daydreaming
browned off (British)	annoyed
purple prose	flowery, romantic writing
born in the purple	born into a high ranking/aristocratic family
the Purple Heart (U.S.)	a U.S. military honor badge
a purple patch (British)	a period of exceptionally high achievement
agent orange	a defoliant used in herbicidal warfare
Orangemen (Irish)	Protestant fraternal organization
in the pink of health	very healthy
tickled pink	very pleased
a pinko	a communist
to see the world through rose-colored glasses	to see the world through an optimistic filter
rosy	positive, optimistic,
to get a pink slip	to be fired
the pink pound (British)	consumer spending by gay people
grey area	unclear
grey matter	the brain
to give someone grey hairs	to try someone’s patience
gray market	sale of products via nonstandard distribution channels or at an unofficial price
grey nomads (Australian)	retirees who travel around the country
the silver screen	the movies
a golden boy	a well-regarded, successful man
a golden handshake	monetary incentive to join a company
a golden parachute	money given to an executive leaving a company
golden ears	great listening ability to discern quality or commerciality
a golden shower (lewd)	urinating on a sexual partner
a golden mean	the desirable middle (between extremes of excess and deficiency)
off-color	inappropriate, crude
to show your true colors	to reveal your true self or feelings
a colorless person	a boring person
colorful (e.g. tale, history, life)	event-filled and interesting
colorful language	vivid or expletive-filled language
to pass with flying colors	to do very well
local color	having typical characteristics of the local area
color commentary	facts & comments about athletes during a broadcast
a horse of a different color	a completely different thing/idea
a country’s colors	the colors of a national flag

For other languages and for the rest of the list, click here.

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white noise	static noise
white as a sheet	scared, sick, surprised
white as a ghost	scared
white-collar	related to “desk jobs”
a white flag	surrender
to whitewash something	to mask the negative parts
white wine	wine from green or yellow grapes
a white Christmas	snow on Christmas day
a white wedding	a traditional western-style wedding where the bride wears a white gown
a white person	a person of Caucasian race
white-hot	extremely hot OR popular
a white paper	an authoritative report on a issue
a white elephant	a useless knick-knack OR an expensive, useless thing
white as the driven snow	innocent (often used sarcastically about corruption)
white with rage	extremely enraged
to bleed someone white	to take everything someone has, esp. money
showing the white feather	acting cowardly
a white-knuckle ride	a dangerous, nerve-wracking, scary ride
that’s mighty white of you (old-fashioned)	that’s good of you
lily-white	unmistakably Caucasian OR blameless, goodly
white horses (surfing)	patches of white foam made by breaking waves
white trash (American)	(offensive) uneducated, socio-economically disadvantaged Caucasian people
whiter than white (British)	righteous, innocent
a white pointer (Australian)	a topless female sunbather
to blackmail someone	to threaten to reveal secrets unless payment is made
black magic / the black arts	magic used for malevolent purposes
the pot calling the kettle black	someone criticizing someone else for a quality they themselves possess
the black market	illegal/underground sales and purchases
little black book	book of contacts, esp. past or potential dates
a black sheep	the outcast or disgrace in a group
black tie	formal clothing e.g. a tuxedo
black humor	jokes about death or illness
a black day	a day when something bad happens
to be in black and white	to be written down officially
to be black and white (a situation)	to be clear
in the black	profitable
a black mood	a bad, grumpy mood
a black eye	a bruised eye
to blacklist someone	to prevent someone from being hired
to blackball someone	to shut someone out from group participation
black and blue	bruised
a black look	an angry/disapproving facial expression
as black as night	very dark black
pitch black	very dark black
a black person	a person of African heritage
black ops	extralegal covert activity, done in the dark (military/politics)
black-hearted	cruel, evil, mean
a black mark	an indication of wrongdoing
to blacken someon’es name	to suggest/indicate a person’s wrongdoing
the Black Death	The Bubonic Plague
Black Friday (U.S.)	The day after American Thanksgiving when many stores have sales
the black dog (Irish)	a bad mood
beyond the black stump (Australian)	the back of nowhere, far from anything
in the red	unproftable OR negative financial balance, owing money
a redhead	a person with orange-colored hair
red light district	area with prostitutes
to see red	to be furious
red with rage	furious
to turn/go red	become embarassed
a red herring	a false clue
to paint the town red	to dine, dance, experience fun in a town or city
a red flag	a signal that something is wrong
roll out the red carpet	give a big welcome
red tape	unnecessary/excessive bureaucracy
not one red cent	no money at all
a red letter day	a special day
a scarlet woman	a sinful woman
scarlet fever	an infection with group A streptococcus bacteria.
red-hot	very hot OR very popular
red card	(soccer) to give someone their final warning
red alert	a serious warning of danger
a red-blooded male	a virile, manly male person
like a red rag/flag to a bull	provoking/aggravating anger
red (adjective)	communist
bleed red ink (British)	debt
red in tooth and claw (British)	the wild, violent aspect of the natural world
redshirting (U.S.)	delaying an athlete’s participation in sports order to lengthen his/her period of eligibility
a red state (U.S.)	a state whose residents are politically more Republican
a redneck (U.S.)	an uneducated, rural white American
a red-bone (U.S.)	a light-skinned black woman
the red eye (U.S.)	the overnight flight between west and east coast
green with envy	very envious
the green-eyed monster	jealousy
to give the green light	to give approval to proceed
to be green (in a position)	to be inexperienced, a rookie
to be green (policy)	to be environmentally aware
the green room	room in a theater or studio where guests/performers wait to go on
to turn green	to be naseous
green around the gills	sick-looking
a greenbelt	an area of nature around a city
greens	vegetables
a green	a golf course
a greengrocer	a person/store that sells vegetables & fruit
the grass is always greener on the other side	other people’s possessions/situations always seem better than your own
to greenwash something	to deceptively make practices/policies seem more environmentally friendly
little green men	stereotypical/humorous description of space aliens
as sure as God made little green apples	very certain
colorless green ideas sleep furiously	(Linguistics) Noam Chomsky’s oft-quoted example of a sentence with good grammar but no meaning
to have green fingers (British)	to be good with plants/gardens
to have a green thumb (U.S.)	to be good with plants/gardens
a greenie (Australian)	an environmentally aware person
a green card (U.S.)	legal residency staus
a greenhorn (U.S.)	an inexperienced or young person
greenbacks (U.S.)	dollars
yellow	cowardly
a yellow streak	cowardice
yellow-bellied	cowardly
yellow journalism	disreputable, sensationalistic journalism
a yellow card	(soccer) to give someone a first warning
the yellow peril	(offensive, archaic) the fear that Asian people will outnumber/displace Caucasian people
a yellow dog Democrat (U.S.)	a voter who always votes Democrat in every election
out of the blue	suddenly, unexpectedly
a bolt from the blue	a sudden/unexpected thing
to be blue	to be sad
a blue funk	a feeling of melancholy
the blues	sadness OR a 3 chord style of music
once in a blue moon	infrequently
blue-collar	related to manual labor or the working class
a blue blood	an aristocratic person
to talk a blue streak	to talk a lot
to turn blue	to have difficulty breathing
blue with cold	feeling very cold
until you’re blue in the face	having lost your patience
blue chip stock	stock of an established/finanically sound company
working blue	performing using foul language
a blue movie	a pornographic film
a blueprint (for something)	a design, a guide
true blue	faithful
blue on blue	in military: friendly fire
into the wide/wild blue yonder	to an unknown/faraway place
blue balls (lewd)	male sexual frustration due to unfulfilled sexual urges
to turn the air blue	to swear a lot
between the devil and the deep blue sea	a dilemma
the boys in blue	the police
the thin blue line	the police
a blue state (U.S.)	a state whose residents are politically more Democrat
a blue (British)	a Tory
to scream blue muder (British)	to express yourself angrily
a blue-eyed boy (British)	a male who can do no wrong, who is favored by authority
having a blue (Australian)	having a fight
make a blue (Australian)	make a mistake
a brown-noser	a sycophant
in a brown study	being contemplative; daydreaming
browned off (British)	annoyed
purple prose	flowery, romantic writing
born in the purple	born into a high ranking/aristocratic family
the Purple Heart (U.S.)	a U.S. military honor badge
a purple patch (British)	a period of exceptionally high achievement
agent orange	a defoliant used in herbicidal warfare
Orangemen (Irish)	Protestant fraternal organization
in the pink of health	very healthy
tickled pink	very pleased
a pinko	a communist
to see the world through rose-colored glasses	to see the world through an optimistic filter
rosy	positive, optimistic,
to get a pink slip	to be fired
the pink pound (British)	consumer spending by gay people
grey area	unclear
grey matter	the brain
to give someone grey hairs	to try someone’s patience
gray market	sale of products via nonstandard distribution channels or at an unofficial price
grey nomads (Australian)	retirees who travel around the country
the silver screen	the movies
a golden boy	a well-regarded, successful man
a golden handshake	monetary incentive to join a company
a golden parachute	money given to an executive leaving a company
golden ears	great listening ability to discern quality or commerciality
a golden shower (lewd)	urinating on a sexual partner
a golden mean	the desirable middle (between extremes of excess and deficiency)
off-color	inappropriate, crude
to show your true colors	to reveal your true self or feelings
a colorless person	a boring person
colorful (e.g. tale, history, life)	event-filled and interesting
colorful language	vivid or expletive-filled language
to pass with flying colors	to do very well
local color	having typical characteristics of the local area
color commentary	facts & comments about athletes during a broadcast
a horse of a different color	a completely different thing/idea
a country’s colors	the colors of a national flag