Hi, fellas! How are you feeling today? I hope you’re not feeling blue because I’m going to give you some idioms related to colors!

1. Blue blood. Meaning: anyone who claims to have royal heritage, aristocratic status or luxury privileges.
   • Example:
     • “Mary’s family is really poor, but she has blue blood in her veins.”
2. Out of the blue. Meaning: an unusual or surprising occurrence.
   • Example:
     • “He wanted to punch me in the face out of the blue.“
3. A gray area. Meaning: a situation/concept that is unclear; open to interpretation.
   • Example:
     • “There’s a large gray area between what is legal and what is not.”
4. Grass is always greener on the other side. Meaning: a place/situation appears better but is often no better than current conditions.
   • Example:
     • “I thought it would be great to go to medicine school, but the grass is always greener on the other side.”
5. Pink slip. Meaning: this common metaphor is used when a worker is fired.
   • Example:
     • “After arriving late for the 7^th time, my boss was finally given the pink slip.”
6. Wave a white flag. Meaning: an official military sign to surrender/negotiate a truce, but it’s also used in conversation.
   • Example:
     • “I think it’s time to wave the white flag and declare bankruptcy.”
7. Red herring. Meaning: a deceiving clue or distraction that is intended to be misleading.
   • Example:
     • “The detectives were following a red herring, but they’re finally on the right track now.”
8. Green thumb. Meaning: those who are lucky enough to grow lush plants without trying.
   • Example:
     • “My father has a green thumb, all tomatoes and strawberries in the garden always ripe perfectly.”
9. Gray matter. Meaning: a group of important cells that are found in the cerebral cortex.
   • Example:
     • “The brain has not yet revealed its mysterious mechanism of gray matter.“
10. As black as the ace of spades. Meaning: completely dark or black.
    • Example:
      • “I don’t want to go down to the cellar. It’s as black as the ace of spades down there.”

Compiled and written by @Patipatigulipat at @EnglishTips4U on June 23, 2013.

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• #IOTW: Idioms with red colour
• #IOTW: Color
• #EngVocab: Say it with colour!
• #EngTrivia: Color’s meaning

^MD