Colour Idioms And Phrases In English

Learn Idioms Related To Colours With Meaning And Examples

List of colour idioms and expression for daily use

There are many useful colour idioms and phrases. Let's learn some of these idioms with their meaning and examples. This idioms will definitely help you to give colors to your language. Use these expressions to make your writing more attractive. It will help you to make good impression when you talk to a native speaker.

With flying colours

Meaning: To do something with distinction or pass exam with good score

Example: I passed my GRE exams with flying colours.

Sail under false colours

Meaning: To pretend to be something that one is not

Example: Politicians often sail under false colours just to win the election.

Green with envy

Meaning: To feel very jealous about someone's possessions or advantages

Example: Tom was green with envy when he saw my new car.

Roll out the red carpet

Meaning: To give a royal treatment to an important person

Example: Our city has rolled out the red carpet for the President's inauguration.

Rose coloured glasses

Meaning: To see things better than they really are

Example: She enjoys her low paying job because she sees everything through rose-colored glasses.

To be tickled pink

Meaning: To be very happy and pleased about something

Example: She is very happy and excited about her new job. She’s tickled pink.

In the red

Meaning: To lose money; unable to make a profit

Example: Our business made enough profit last year, but this year we're in the red.

Blue-collar worker

Meaning: Someone who earns a living by doing some manual labor

Example: People working in factories are often treated badly. They're usually blue-collar workers.

In black and white

Meaning: in print or in writing

Example: We can not buy a property with just a handshake. The agreement should be in black and white.

To feel the blue

Meaning: To feel very sad

Example: After her break up Rachel was missing him a lot. She was feeling a little blue.

Talk a blue streak

Meaning: To talk very fast which makes it difficult to understand

Example: My brother is a hasty person. He talks a blue streak right from his childhood.

Give (someone) the green light

Meaning: to give permission to proceed

Example: The European Union Commission has given green light to Amazon's acquisition of MGM.

To paint the town red

Meaning: To go out and have some fun

Example: We painted the town red on our vacation to Hawaii. It was a great fun.

A White elephant

Meaning: An items which is very costly and useless; unwanted possession

Example: Many are raising doubts on $10 billion white elephant project announced recently.

Green-eyed monster

Meaning: To feel jealous; envy (Traditionally green has been colour of jealousy)

Example: Tom started suffering from the green-eyed monster as his girlfriend was dating someone else.

Blue in the face

Meaning: To argue too much with someone without any success

Example: Steve argued with me until he was blue in the face but I still refused to invest in his business.

Once in a blue moon

Meaning: Very rarely; not too often

Example: Shreya is very health conscious. She its pizza once in a blue moon.

Out of the blue

Meaning: To happen without any warning or unexpectedly

Example: Completely out of the blue, Jim arrived at Sara's weeding.

A golden boy

Meaning: a young man who is very much admired for a short time

Example: He was tagged a golden boy by media when his films started failing badly.

To show one’s true colours

Meaning: To reveal one's intentions or real character

Example: By charging more fees from a friend, he showed his true colours.

A golden opportunity

Meaning: A chance to do something which may not occur again

Example: His company gave him a golden opportunity to become a new manager.

A golden handshake

Meaning: To give a big sum of money at the time of retirement

Example: Our company has decided to give a golden handshake to many of the aged employees.

Black tie event

Meaning: A formal event where male guests wears black suit with a tie and women wears long formal dress.

Example: He received the best actor award at one of the most famous black tie event in India.

Raise a red flag

Meaning: A warning sign of something danger or

Example: His angry and panic reaction during meeting raised a red flag for him.

A grey area

Meaning: Something that is without a clear rule or difficult to define

Example: New forest law worries environmental activists. It has a lot of grey areas.

To be off colour

Meaning: To look or feel unwell

Use: I'm feeling a bit off colour today. May be I ate too much.

Pot calling the kettle black

Meaning: To tell someone not to criticize others for a fault you posses yourself

Example: He laughs on my dress, but he doesn't have dressing sense either. Pot calling the kettle black!