Using idioms – phrases with a separate meaning from their literal one – in your English helps you understand and emulate the way native speakers communicate. Speaking in idioms makes it easy to communicate ideas in shorter, more digestible sentences.
Often, idioms make use of metaphor to convey meaning, which is part of what makes idiomatic speech sound so fluid and sophisticated. Idioms which use colors specifically are very common in daily life, writing, and other forms of media.
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What are Color Idioms?
Color idioms are idioms specifically derived from colors, used to convey a wide range of ideas. In contrast to other types of idioms, like idioms about money or idioms about clothes, they are also often used to describe emotions (e.g. “blue” for sad or “red” for angry) in addition to their other uses.
Sometimes, people will use colors literally to express an idea, and sometimes the color will be incorporated metaphorically. Metaphoric use of color (“give the green light,” “blue in the face”) constitutes a color idiom.
Popular Idioms With Colors and Their Meanings
Color idioms are uniquely appropriate to describe people or things, because color has particular psychological associations which, while they do vary by culture, are universal enough that the idioms make sense. For example, most everyone knows to wear black to a funeral because black is a somber color, and many people associate purple with royalty.
These sayings draw on the common associations people make to create metaphors that are instantly understandable, and Learning to use and create these metaphors yourself helps make your English more relatable to other speakers.
White Color Idioms
| Idiom | Meaning | Example |
| “White lie” | A harmless/small lie | Santa Claus is a white lie for our kids. |
| “White elephant” | Something expensive or costly, but useless | I wasted my bonus check on a white elephant the other day. |
| “Whitewash” | To cover up something unpleasant | The oil company got bad press for whitewashing their impact. |
| “White-collar” | Office or professional work | He’s going to business school to land a white-collar job. |
| “Raise the white flag” | Surrender | Eventually, the wrestler had no choice but to raise the white flag. |
Red Color Idioms
| Idiom | Meaning | Example |
| “Red tape” | Too much bureaucracy | Getting health insurance means sorting out a lot of red tape. |
| “In the red” | In debt | When her store closed, she found herself in the red. |
| “Caught red-handed” | Found doing something wrong | The burglar was caught red-handed in the house. |
| “Seeing red” | Very very angry, to the point of starting a fight | When people insult him, he sees red. |
| “Paint the town red” | Celebrate wildly | Before the wedding, he went to paint the town red. |
Blue Color Idioms
| Idiom | Meaning | Example |
| “True blue” | Loyal or genuine | They’ve been true blue friends for decades. |
| “Once in a blue moon” | Very rarely | The comet only comes around once in a blue moon. |
| “Out of the blue” | Something unexpected | The decision to open a new restaurant came out of the blue. |
| “Blue in the face” | Exhausted from a long, fruitless effort | They argued until they were blue in the face. |
| “Feeling blue” | Sad | He was feeling blue at the funeral. |
Green Color Idioms
| Idiom | Meaning | Example |
| “Green with envy” | Incredibly jealous | The neighbor’s new car makes me green with envy. |
| “Green thumb” | A talent for gardening | After tasting his tomatoes, they all agreed he has a real green thumb. |
| “Gave the green light” | Approved something | The project went ahead after he gave the green light. |
| “The grass is always greener on the other side” | The alternative always seems better | John daydreams at work because the grass is always greener on the other side. |
| “Green as grass” | Inexperienced or naive | Our new team member is green as grass. |
Black Color Idioms
| Idiom | Meaning | Example |
| “Black sheep” | Someone considered radically different or shameful, e.g. in a family | Choosing to drop out of school at 17 made him the black sheep of his family. |
| “Pot calling the kettle black” | Someone being hypocritical | Saying I don’t like to work is the pot calling the kettle black. |
| “Black mark” | A negative strike against someone | His arrest will be a black mark on his record for a while. |
| “Black humor” | Jokes about very serious or forbidden topics | Her black humor was poorly received by the hospital staff. |
| “Black-hearted” | Evil or cruel | As a fearsome pirate, he was famously black-hearted. |
Yellow Color Idioms
| Idiom | Meaning | Example |
| “Yellow-bellied” | Cowardly/easily frightened | Whenever he watches a horror movie, you can see how yellow-bellied he is. |
| “Yellow journalism” | Sensational or exaggerated news, usually false | The paper is being sued for their aggressive yellow journalism. |
| “Mellow yellow” | Calm and laid-back | We love hanging out with her because she’s always mellow yellow. |
| “Yellow flag” | A warning signal | The change in his contract was a yellow flag. |
| “Yellow streak” | A sign of cowardice | Instead of standing up for me, he showed his yellow streak. |
Color Idioms Examples in Daily Life
Color idioms are frequently used in both fiction and nonfiction writing to add extra personality to a story. Phrases like “greenlight a project” can be found everywhere from conversations between friends to the boardroom in a Fortune 500 company.
These idioms are also very versatile. Here are some color idioms examples you might hear used in conversation. Keep an eye out for these phrases next time you pick up a book or watch a series.
Person 1: “I can’t believe my son stole a car; that’s going to be a black mark on his record for years.”
Person 2: “Now that he’s been caught red-handed, I guess that makes him the black sheep of the family.”
Person 1: “Did you see her new apartment?”
Person 2: “It’s massive! I’m absolutely green with envy.”
Person 1: “Sorry I’m late, there was an accident in traffic.”
Person 2: “Yeah I heard, that sort of thing only happens once in a blue moon.”
Person 1: “You should try that new farm-to-table restaurant; the owner has a real green thumb.”
Person 2: “I’ve driven past there a few times, it looks delicious.”
As well as paying attention to see which color idioms examples you can hear on a daily basis, consider incorporating some into your own writing. As colors and their meaning are deeply psychological, it’s very effective to know how color idioms are used.
Color idioms are especially useful in more descriptive types of writing, like fiction or poetry. Anytime you’re aiming to convey extra emotion in your writing, they are one of your best tools. Take a look at this story for an example.
Captain Jones, the most black-hearted pirate to ever sail the seven seas, was caught red-handed by the Royal Navy yesterday. The mere sight of his flag barreling towards a hapless merchant ship out of the blue was enough to set crews quaking in their boots. But now his iron grip on naval trade routes has come to an end thanks to the efforts of the true-blue patriots who serve the Crown.
You can see how color idioms add a spark to stories and help them come to life.
Why Learn English Color Idioms?
Practicing your color idioms and using them regularly makes your English sound more fluent and helps you express yourself more naturally. Like other types of idioms, color idioms are used in a wide variety of contexts and convey meaning efficiently.
Because colors have very clear associations for native English speakers, color idioms are not just instantly understandable, they’re also excellent ways to emphasize a point. You’ll hear, see, and find uses for color idioms everywhere from casual chats over coffee to job interviews to academic writing.
Quick Reference Table for Color Idioms in English
The list of color idioms is long, and these examples have hopefully shown how diverse and dynamic they can sound. One thing that’s helpful to keep in mind when learning or encountering new color idioms is that colors commonly have specific emotions attached to them. Use this table as a guide to help you figure out or remember unfamiliar color idioms.
| Color | Feeling | Sample Idiom |
| White | Purity, honesty, truth, innocence | “White knight” |
| Red | Anger, passion, intensity | “Seeing red” |
| Blue | Sadness, loneliness | “Feeling blue” |
| Green | Jealousy, envy, greed | “Green with envy” |
| Black | Cruel, immoral, negative | “Black mark” |
| Yellow | Cowardly | “Yellow streak” |
It’s important to note that there are exceptions to this rule when it comes to color idioms. For example, the phrase “red tape” is not directly related to anger or passion – although red tape is generally used in the context of something frustrating.
Nevertheless, knowing the emotions associated with a given color can help you figure out the tone or use case of different color idioms.
Conclusion
Color idioms are a vital component of communicating like a native English speaker, since they carry particular weight as descriptive terms. All idioms resonate because of shared cultural meaning, but this is especially true for idioms about color. Color psychology shows up in advertising, visual design, and filmmaking, exactly because colors are so effective at inspiring emotion. With only a few minutes of practice per day, you can build vocabulary and start improving the way your writing connects with audiences.
Color idioms aren’t the only form of idiom out there. To expand your English knowledge even further, explore some of our other resources on idioms.