English Color Idioms

Black Idioms

as black as coal
Meaning: very black.

black eye
Meaning: a bruise near one's eye which makes it appear black; a bad reputation.

black market
Meaning: the place where goods or money are illegally bought and sold; a system of buying and selling officially controlled goods illegally.

blackmail
Meaning: to extort/take money from someone by threats to divulge

black list
Meaning: list of unwanted people; a list of disapproved people or groups who are under suspicion or excluded from something; to exclude/ostracize someone, to write someone's name on a list if they break some rules.

blackout
Meaning: loss of electricity; to lose consciousness; temporary withholding of information.

black sheep
Meaning: somebody regarded by the other members of a family or group as not living up to their standards and expectations (a misfit); a person who is a disgrace or embarrassment to a family or group.

in the black
Meaning: successful or profitable; not showing a financial loss.

blackball
Meaning: to exclude/ostracize someone socially, to reject someone; The act of excluding someone by a negative vote or veto.

black-tie event/affair
Meaning: a formal event where guests wear semi-formal clothes with men wearing black bow ties with tuxedos or dinner jackets.

in (someone's) black books
Meaning: to be in disgrace or out of favor with someone.

pitch-black
Meaning: very black, as black as pitch.

pot calling the kettle black
Meaning: the person who criticizes/accuses someone else is as guilty as the person he or she criticizes/accuses; criticizing others for the very fault one possesses.

Black and Blue Idioms

black and blue

Meaning: bruised

Black and white Idioms

black and white

Meaning: simple, clear and understandable; clearly distinct or different; either good or bad, either one way or the other way but not in between; in writing, officially.

put down in black and white

Meaning: to write the details of a contract or something on paper.

Brown Idioms

as brown as a berry

Meaning: having the skin tanned brown by the sun.

brown bag it

Meaning: to take a lunch to work or elsewhere, usually in a small brown paper bag.

brownout

Meaning: partial loss of electricity; dimming of lights - so named because it typically causes lights to dim.

brown-nose

Meaning: slightly vulgar, refers to flattering (please) someone in a position of power in order to obtain favors, in a way that other people find unpleasant .

in a brown study

Meaning: seriously contemplating something.

Blue Idioms

Blue

Meaning: sad

blue blood

Meaning: royal, regal; : the blood of a noble/aristocratic family.

blue funk

Meaning: very depressed

blue movies

Meaning: movies with explicit sex.

blue ribbon

Meaning: first rate; of superior quality; the best of a group; the highest distinction or first prize in a particular field.

blue-collar workers

Meaning: laborers; manual workers

a blue-eyed boy

Meaning: a boy/young man who has been singled out for special favors by someone in authority; a boy/young man who is liked and admired by someone in authority.

to appear/happen out of the blue

Meaning: to happen very suddenly and unexpectedly.

to blue pencil something

Meaning: to censor something.

to look / feel blue

Meaning: to look / feel depressed or discontented.

blue in the face

Meaning: Exhausted from anger, strain, or other great effort; weakened, tired after trying many times.

once in a blue moon

Meaning: to occur extremely rarely or only once in a life-time.

feel blue

Meaning: depressed

get/have the blues

Meaning: to become sad or depressed.

out of the blue

Meaning: without any warning, by surprise.

talk a blue streak

Meaning: to talk very much and very rapidly.

talk until one is blue in the face

Meaning: to talk until one is exhausted.

Gray Idioms

get/have gray hair

Meaning: to have one's hair turn gray from stress.

a gray area

Meaning: something that is not clearly defined and may have a broad or more than one answer, and is therefore difficult to deal with.

gray matter

Meaning: brains, intelligence

get/have gray hair

Meaning: to have one's hair turn gray from stress.

to go gray

Meaning: become gray-haired.

Green Idioms

green

Meaning: to be inexperienced or immature.

be green with envy

Meaning: very jealous of another person's property; wishing very much that you had what someone else has.

get/have the green light

Meaning: to receive a signal to start or continue something; to give permission for someone; approve a project or request.

grass is always greener on the other side

Meaning: a place that is far away or different seems better than where we are now; a different situation always seems better than one's own.

green belt

Meaning: the countryside around a city; an area of fields and trees around a city or town.

green-fingered

Meaning: to be good at keeping plants healthy and making them grow.

green around the gills

Meaning: looking sick

green-eyed monster

Meaning: jealousy

green thumb

Meaning: a talent for gardening, the ability to make things grow

green with envy

Meaning: to be very jealous, to be full of envy

greenhorn

Meaning: an untrained/inexperienced/naive person

Pink Idioms

pink lady

Meaning: an alcoholic drink

pink-collar workers

Meaning: office workers, esp. women

pinkies

Meaning: the little fingers

tickled pink

Meaning: very happy

in the pink

Meaning: in very good health

pink slip

Meaning: a termination notice from a job

pink elephants

Meaning: any visual hallucination arising from heavy drinking or use of narcotics.

see pink elephants

Meaning: to see things which are not really there, and exist only in ones imagination.

tickled pink

Meaning: to be very pleased or delighted by someone or something.

Red Idioms

catch red-handed

Meaning: to catch someone in the act of doing something wrong

red tape

Meaning: bureaucracy; official procedure regarded as unnecessary, overcomplicated, or obstructive; excessive formalities in official business.

roll out the red carpet

Meaning: give the best treatment; to give a big welcome to someone; to treat someone as an honored guest.

red-carpet treatment

Meaning: to receive special/royal treatment.

to see red

Meaning: very angry.

red herring

Meaning: any diversion intended to distract attention from the main issue/ something intended to divert attention from the real problem or matter at hand.

red-faced/ red in the face

Meaning: embarrassed

as red as a cherry

Meaning: bright red

as red as a rose

Meaning: intensely red

as red as a poppy

Meaning: bright red

as red as a ruby

Meaning: deep red

as red as blood

Meaning: deep red

in the red

Meaning: to be in debt; to be unprofitable; showing a financial loss.

like waving a red flag in front of a bull

Meaning: what you are doing will definitely make someone angry or upset.

out of the red

Meaning: out of debt

paint the town red

Meaning: to go out and party and have a good time.

red-eye

Meaning: an airplane flight that leaves late at night and arrives early in the morning; an unwanted photographic effect in which a person's iris appears to be red.

a red flag

Meaning: a signal that something is not working properly or correctly; warning signal.

red-hot

Meaning: very hot, creating much excitement or demand.

red-letter day

Meaning: a day that is memorable because of some important event.

see red

Meaning: to become very angry.

Rainbow Idioms

chase rainbows

Meaning: to try to get or achieve something that is difficult or impossible.

White Idioms

white lie

Meaning: a harmless or small lie told to be polite or to avoid hurting someone's feelings; small, insignificant lie.

white as a sheet

Meaning: very pale, frightened

white-collar workers

Meaning: management; non-manual workers, e.g.. office clerical, supervisory sales, technical workers and professional workers.

as white as a ghost

Meaning: very pale because of fear/shock/illness.

as white as the driven snow

Meaning: very white

carte blanche (French)

Meaning: the freedom or permission to do what you want.

raise/wave a white flag

Meaning: to indicate that you have been defeated and you want to give up.

white elephant

Meaning: a burdensome possession; creating more trouble than it is worth; a rare, expensive possession that is a financial burden to maintain and has no useful purpose - a useless possession.

white sale

Meaning: the selling of towels, bed linens, sheets and similar goods at a reduced price.

white-tie event/affair

Meaning: a function that requires guests to wear formal dress. The basic uniform for men include a full evening tailcoat, a white shirt, vest, matching black pants, a white bow tie and black leather shoes.

whitewash

Meaning: to conceal or make light of a fault/error or offense; to cover up the truth.

Yellow Idioms

be yellow

Meaning: be a coward

have a yellow streak

Meaning: to be cowardly

Yellow

Meaning: cowardly

Yellow-bellied

Meaning: extremely timid, coward, not brave.

the yellow press

Meaning: popular and sensationalist newspapers; newspapers that deliberately include sensational news items to attract readers.

http://www.myuniversalfacts.com/2007/07/list-of-english-colour-idioms.html