Here you’ll find the most popular colors idioms – from black to white and every shade of the rainbow. It’s surprising how many there are when you stop and take a look!
These English sayings are all explained below and then shown in an example sentence to help you understand how to use them correctly.
Color Idioms
Green with envy
Color idioms cover a whole host of topics, and in particular, there are many ways to describe emotions using color. Describe someone as green with envy if you want to exaggerate how jealous they are.
“She was green with envy when she saw my new handbag.”
Out of the blue
Something that happens unexpectedly and without warning can be described as happening out of the blue.
“I couldn’t believe it last night when, out of the blue, he called.”
Caught red-handed
Have you ever been discovered doing something you shouldn’t have been doing? If yes, you were caught red-handed.
“Aha! I’ve caught you red-handed taking a cookie before dinner!”
This phrase has the same meaning as ‘caught in the act’.
Have the blues / feel blue
To have the blues or feel blue is another way of saying that you feel depressed, down, or sad.
“I always feel a bit blue around the end of the summer holidays.”
There are many other sadness idioms to describe feelings like this.
Black and blue
This term refers to the strange colors that bruises can turn over time. Someone who is black and blue has sustained a lot of bruises.
“The boxer was beaten black and blue by the fifth round.”
“My mother is black and blue after her fall.”
Black sheep
Black sheep is most often used as an expression to describe a family member. It’s the member of the family that has gotten into trouble or is in some way an embarrassment to the family.
“We don’t talk about Bruno. He’s the black sheep of the family.”
Black out
The phrasal verb to black out means to lose consciousness.
“He blacked out when he saw the blood.”
Blackout
Be careful, because a blackout is something completely different from the phrasal verb above. It refers to a loss of power, and if it happens at night, the result is that all the lights turn off and the place becomes dark.
“We have regular blackouts at home so I always keep a torch handy.”
A blackout could affect a single house, a street, or a whole town or city.
Red herring
You may come across this term in the context of a spy movie or a detective book. A red herring is a clue or some information that is, usually on purpose, misleading or distracting.
“I believe this clue is a red herring designed to throw us off the case.”
It’s actually quite incredible how many idioms there are connected to fish and fishing.
Black and white
Here’s one of the few color idioms that includes two colors. When something is black and white, it is a matter of yes or no, right or wrong – there is no middle ground.
“It’s a pretty black-and-white agreement.”
Sometimes the term ‘black and white’ can also refer to printing in black ink rather than color ink.
Gray area
A gray area (or grey area, if you’re using British spelling) is the complete opposite of black and white. It is an area of ambiguity between two extremes; a topic that is not clearly defined.
“We can’t sign this contract. There are too many gray areas that could catch us out later.”
This makes sense really, since gray is a mixture of black and white!
White elephant
Here’s the first of our white color idioms. When something is expensive or costly to upkeep but has no real purpose or benefit, it could be described as a white elephant.
“My last investment property ended up a bit of a white elephant as we built it on the wrong side of town.”
Greenlight / green light
There are a couple of ways to use this driving-related idiom. On the road, a green light is a sign that you have permission to proceed.
In an idiomatic sense, to give someone/something a/the green light is to allow them to proceed. It can also be turned into a verb: to greenlight something.
“Ok, the new project has finally been given the green light.”
“I wish he would hurry up and greenlight my proposal.”
Conversely, we can give someone a red light as a signal to stop, but there is no equivalent verb.
White-collar worker / blue-collar worker
Although these idioms with color sound similar, they are slightly different. A white-collar worker is someone in a clerical or management-type role with an annual salary.
A blue-collar worker, on the other hand, is someone in a more physically demanding role or a trade job that probably pays hourly.
“My friends are all white-collar workers in the office down the road.”
“They’re just looking for blue-collar workers at the moment, but I need a more office-based job.”
Once in a blue moon
When something doesn’t happen very often it is said to happen once in a blue moon.
“We only go out for a meal without the kids once in a blue moon.”
Take a/the red-eye
This is perhaps one of the more American English idioms with color, since it refers to taking domestic flights, which is especially common within the US due to the size of the country.
People who take the red-eye go on a flight that leaves late at night and arrives early morning. They may not sleep much and could end up with red eyes!
You can also simply refer to this type of flight as a red-eye.
“The cheapest flight is the red-eye. Shall I book it?”
“If we take a red-eye, we’ll be there in the morning.”
More idioms with color
Tickled pink
When someone is ticked pink, they are feeling particularly amused or happy about something.
“I was ticked pink that they remembered by birthday and organised a cake.”
This is a great example of a happy idiom!
Red in the face
There are two things that could cause you to become red in the face: either embarrassment or exertion. Even if you don’t literally turn red, you can use this face idiom to describe how you feel.
“I turned red in the face after I fell in front of everyone at the party last night.”
“Let’s not walk too fast, otherwise we’ll be red in the face by the time we arrive.”
Black market
A black market is somewhere you can buy or sell illegally. This may be a physical place or an online marketplace.
“The spy bought the bullets from the black market.”
Paint the town red
Here is a fun party-related saying that is also one of our favorite color idioms.
When you paint the town red you have a really fun time out, either at a restaurant, a nightclub, or a party. It may include dancing, alcohol, and lots of laughing with your friends.
“I can’t wait to paint the town red on Mary’s birthday.”
Red tape
Have you ever had to fill in lots of forms, complete seemingly unnecessary tasks, or conform to strict rules and excessive regulations? Then you have dealt with the red tape that is normally found in government buildings and the procedures you might need to complete there.
“There is way too much red tape to simply apply for a visa!”
In the red / in the black
These are both useful finance idioms to know. When you are in the red you are in debt or have a negative balance, but when you are in the black you are in profit or have a positive balance.
“The car payment has put us in the red for next month.”
“I’m going to work really hard to get back in the black now.”
Red carpet
This color idiom can be used in different ways. You could attend a red carpet event or roll out the red carpet for someone, for example.
Either way, it is in reference to the long red carpet customarily laid out for special Hollywood-type parties or award shows, when you want to give someone special treatment.
“She really laid out the red carpet for this event.”
In the example above, it may not mean that there was actually a red carpet there; more that it felt like a VIP event.
See red
As you can see, the color red is very versatile within this list of color idioms. This time it is used when talking about anger or losing control. When you see red, you become enraged very quickly.
“My mate saw red once the other guys started talking badly about his mother.”
White lie
Although lying is not good, sometimes you need to tell a white lie. This lie idiom refers to a small, seemingly harmless untruth, normally said in order to avoid hurting someone’s feelings.
“I felt bad tellling her a white lie, but if I told her the truth she would have found out about the suprise party.”
Born with a silver spoon in your mouth
This one could be considered more of a British English idiom due to the class system the UK was infamous for in the past. Someone born with a silver spoon in their mouth was born into a family of wealth and privilege.
“My goodness! Look at how he is acting! He really was born with a silver spoon in his mouth.”
Golden opportunity
If you are ever offered a golden opportunity, say yes! It is a fantastic offer or a chance to do something that will greatly benefit you.
“This new job offer is a golden opportunity for me to progress my career.”
Pass with flying colors
These last few idioms with colors don’t have a specific color but are still worth a mention on this list. If you pass an exam or test with a very high score, we could say you passed with flying colors. This is often the result of studying hard.
“I am so excited. I passed with flying colors!”
But where did this saying come from?
True colors
When someone shows their true colors they are revealing their real self or personality. This is usually a negative side of the person that they kept hidden at first.
“After working with Derick for a few weeks I’m really starting to see his true colors, and have to say I don’t like it!”
Off-color
This particular color idiom has a few meanings. As a health-related expression, we could say that someone looks or feels off-color when they are unwell.
“I’ve been feeling off-color all week. No idea why.”
But watch out for the other meanings. A joke could be described as off-color if it is indecent or inappropriate. And paint could be described as off-color if it doesn’t match another shade (and in this case, the color is literally ‘off’).
So, what’s your favorite color? And more importantly, what’s your favorite color idiom from this list? Can you think of any others? Leave a comment below to let us know!
