- Black and blue. Meaning: bruised and beaten.
- Example:
- “We found the poor guy black and blue on the street.”
- Example:
- Black out. Meaning: faint.
- Example:
- “Lina blacks out every time we do the flag ceremony.”
- Example:
- Black sheep. Meaning: the odd or outcast, especially of a family.
- Example:
- “My youngest sister was the black sheep in our family. She dropped out of school when she was twelve years old.”
- Example:
- (Catch somebody/be caught) red-handed. Meaning: caught in the act of doing something illegal or wrong.
- Example:
- “Sophie was caught red handed stealing chocolate bars at the supermarket.”
- Example:
- Red-letter day. Meaning: something special happens to you.
- Example:
- “It was a red-letter day for me when I received my master’s degree.”
- Example:
- See red. Meaning: be very angry.
- Example:
- “The teacher saw red when she caught her students cheating on the examination.”
- Example:
- Green light. Meaning: give permission to do something.
- Example:
- “The project got the green light, so we can start tomorrow.”
- Example:
- Green with envy. Meaning: very jealous.
- Example:
- “Rika is green with envy over Jessica’s new shoes.”
- Example:
- Green fingers (British) or green thumb (American). Meaning: be a good gardener.
- Example:
- “You can see from her flowers in the garden that Julia has a green thumb.”
- Example:
- Once in the blue moon. Meaning: very rarely.
- Example:
- “We can go to Bali for free just once in a blue moon.”
- Example:
- Feeling blue. Meaning: unhappy, sad, depressed.
- Example:
- “Are you feeling blue because of the problem in your family?”
- Example:
- Out of the blue. Meaning: suddenly, unexpectedly.
- Example:
- “Her decision to get married came out of the blue.”
- Example:
- As white as a sheet. Meaning: very pale because of shocked, fear, illness.
- Example:
- “Bella was as white as a sheet because of the illness she had suffered for months.”
- Example:
- White elephant. Meaning: a useless, an unwanted possession that often costs money to maintain.
- Example:
- “Your car is a white elephant as it often breaks down and causes you too much expenditure.”
- Example:
- White flag. Meaning: surrender, give up.
- Example:
- “The pirates raised a white flag after the warning from the navy.”
- Example:
- Yellow streak. Meaning: coward, craven.
- Example:
- “My brother is a yellow streak that he can’t defend himself when he’s beaten up by the seniors.”
- Example:
- In the pink. Meaning: in very good health.
- Example:
- “I’ve been in the pink since I started going to the gym.”
- Example:
- Brown off. Meaning: fed up, sick and tired of.
- Example:
- “I’m just thoroughly browned off with his attitude.”
- Example:
- Grey cells. Meaning: brain.
- Example:
- “Use your grey cell to do the examination.”
- Example:
- Born in the purple. Meaning: someone who is born in a royal family.
- Example:
- “William was born in the purple.”
- Example:
- Silver lining. Meaning: good message behind thing (hikmah).
- Example:
- “Every cloud has a silver lining.” – @malasyahbani
- Example:
- Whitewash. Meaning: to cover up crimes.
- Example:
- “She whitewashed her brother by telling wrong info to the police.” – @malasyahbani
- Example:
Compiled and written by @fabfebby at @EnglishTips4U on Saturday, July 14, 2012
Related post(s):
- #IOTW: Idioms with red colour
- #EngTrivia: Color’s meaning
- #EngVocab: Extant, extent, and extend
- #EngVocab: Driving phrasal verbs
- #EngVocab: Filler words
^MQ
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