Colours in Proverbs and Sayings

Seeing Red - being furious (it originates from the fact that bulls get angry and charge when they see anything red).

A red letter day - a special or lucky day

To get the red light to be told to stop

A red herring something irrelevant

Red tape - official bureacracy or formality (so-called because lawyers and Government offiicials tie their documents together with red tape)

To be caught red-handed - to be caught in the act

There were some red faces - there were some embarrassed people

Red sky at night, shepherds' delight, red sky in the morning, shepherds' warning a proverb, meaning If you see a red sky at night, the weather will be good next day, but a red sky in the morning foretells bad weather

He is yellow - he is a coward

He is green with envy he is envious or jealous

The green-eyed dragon means jealousy (so you might say "he is suffering from the green eyed dragon")

To get the green light - to get the go-ahead (this comes from traffic lights)

He is green - he is a novice i.e. doesn't quite know what he is doing

To go green - to become ecologically aware (green issues are issues relating to conservation and saving the planet)

Be careful therefore, because if you say someone is green, it could mean either jealous or uninitiated, or ecologigally aware, depending on the context.

In the pink - in flourishing good health or in a good situation

Your pinky - your little finger

Pink - relating to homosexuals as in "the pink economy" (deriving from being half-way between red and white)

Seeing the world through rose-tinted glasses - seeing things in an unrealistically benign way

To be purple with rage - To be very angry

To have a black eye - to have a bruised eye

A black maria - a police van

A black look - a look of displeasure

A black mark - a bad mark

A black sheep - a disgrace to the family

Black arts - witchcraft

To black something out - to erase something from your mind, or to redact something from a document

To have a face as black as thunder - to look very angry

To have a black secret - to have a foul or evil secret

To be in someone's black books - to be in disgrace

To be in the black - to be in credit i.e. to have assets

To blackball someone - to exclude someone from an organization

To blacklist someone - to stop someone from getting a job

To be in a black mood - to be in a bad mood, or be depressed

A grey area - an unclear or doubtful situation

A greybeard - an old man

To have it in black and white - to have something very definite (often meaning something written down)

To be whiter than white - to be especially honest and upright

So close you can see the whites of his eyes - very close indeed

Pearly whites - teeth

A white lie - a small lie to avoid problems, or a well-meaning lie to avoid upsetting someone

A government white paper - a final government policy paper

A white elephant - something which is useless

A white feather - a symbol of cowardice

To be browned off - to be fed up or annoyed

To brown nose someone - to suck up to someone (i.e. to be sycophantic in order to obtain a favour or advantage) - this is a bit rude and should not be used in front of people who are easily shocked

To be in a brown study - to be absent-minded or depressed

Feeling blue - feeling miserable

Blue eyed boy (or girl) - someone who can do no wrong (i.e. they look like an angel)

Blue sky thinking - open-minded thinking

Once in a blue moon - something which happens very rarely

He is between the devil and the deep blue sea - he has two unpleasant alternatives

A blue movie - a movie showing explicit sexual content

Image: The Sinking Ship by Mark Bryan

All that glistens is not gold - you can't judge something or someone just by appearances

All he touches turns to gold - he is very successful in all he does

He has the golden touch - he has the knack of doing something well

The golden age - the best age e.g. the golden age of innocence

To worship the golden calf - to worship money i.e. to believe money is the most important thing in life

The golden rule - the important or invariable rule

As good as gold - very good behaviour

He is gold - he is wonderful (or kind, helpful and so forth)

Silver tongued - to speak persuasively

Cross his palm with silver - pay him money (often used in the sense of paying a bribe)

Every cloud has a silver lining - there is always a prospect that some good will come out of a bad situation

Look for the silver lining - Look for the good

To be born with a silver spoon in his mouth - to be born wealthy or lucky

Learn how to build your own web pages - There are many squidoo lensmasters who will give you the benefit of their knowledge and experience and help you along the way. But I warn you, it's addictive!

I'm a Squidoo lensmaster, and I'm inviting you to join me. Find and share recommendations online by building a lens. Click the link below to get started.
JOIN SQUIDOO HERE

___________________________________________________________________

Just to Wind up this Web Page, You Can Get these designs on Zazzle products - choose the product and, if you like, add your own text or put the design on a different Zazzle item:


Blue fairy Tote Bag by GloriousConfusion
Make a photo bag on Zazzle


A Romantic Flower Poster by GloriousConfusion
Large format printing by Zazzle