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【Abstract】Learning English is fun, especially when you are exposed to a rich repertoire of different idioms which are closely related to people’s life with the words of animals, plants, parts of the body, colors and so on. Getting a good knowledge of English idioms can help us understand English culture, express ourselves appropriately and avoid using Chinese English. The following are some English idioms focusing on different colors.
【Key words】 English idioms, colors
1. RED
1.1 give someone a red-carpet treatment: give someone a warm welcome
We’ll give the guests a red-carpet treatment.
1.2. A red-letter day: a special day, an important or memorable day
It was a red-letter day when I received the admission letter of my dream university.
1.3.a red-hot story: a completely new story
---Do you know Tom will go abroad for college education next semester?
---Really? It’s a red-hot story for me.
1.4. be in the red: be in debt
My bank account is $100 in the red.
1.5.be out of the red: be out of debt
Smart as the company is, it has been out of the red for years.
1.6. not worth a red cent: be worthless
They don’t think the proposal worth a red cent.
1.7. catch sb red-handed: discover sb in the act of doing something wrong or committing a crime
Tom felt guilty. He was caught red-handed while cheating in the exam.
1.8. paint the town red: go out and enjoy oneself in the bars, night clubs, etc
Those guys have dropped out of school and they paint the town red on weekends.
1.9. to see red: to be very angry
Seeing his son’s poor grades in the test, the father saw red.
2.0. red-eye: late-night transportation when passengers are tired and have “red eyes”(夜航航班)
To save money, some passengers prefer red eyes.
2. ORANGE
2.1.as round as an orange: extremely round
Look at the moon tonight. It is as round as an orange.
2.2 an orange gay: a complete gay
---Is Jason an orange gay? ----No, he has a girl friend.
3. GREEN
3.1 a green hand: a person who is inexperienced
Don’t trick me. I’m not a green hand in this field.
3.2. give sb the green light: give sb permission to do sth
Do you think that they will give us the green light to carry on the experiment?
3.3. be green with envy: be very jealous
He was absolutely green with envy when he saw my new Jaguar car. 4. BLUE
4.1 be blue: be sad, depressed
Don’t look so blue---smile.
4.2. once in a blue moon: almost never (难得有一次, 极为罕见)
He is so mean that he lends his money once in a blue moon.
4.3. out of the blue: unexpectedly
Out of the blue, he got a phone call from a friend he hadn’t seen for years.
Disasters always comes to you out of the blue.
4.4. black and blue: be covered with bruises(挫伤)
After the fight, he was black and blue all over.
4.5. scream / shout blue murder: to complain very loudly
Don’t scream blue murder. It’s quite fair.
4.6. a blue-eyed boy: someone’s favorite
Smith is the boss’s blue-eyed boy at the moment.
5. PURPLE
5.1.go purple in the face (气得脸发青)
Seeing his damaged car, he went purple in the face.
5.2. purple-heart: medal awarded to a soldier who has been wounded in the battle
His grandpa possesses two Purple-hearts.
Additional idioms with colors
6. BLACK
6.1. in black and white: in writing or in print (以书面形式,见诸文字)
We need the contact in black and white.
6.2. black out: lose one’s consciousness or memory temporarily
The sudden collision caused the driver to black out.
6.3. a black day: a very bad day
It was a black day when I failed in the exam.
7. WHITE
7.1 a white lie: a harmless lie
For some reason, people need to tell white lies.
7.2. a white hope: a person who is expected to bring great success.
Mike is a regarded as a white hope in his class.
8. DARK
8.1. be in the dark about sth: be in the state of ignorance (对…… 一无所知)
I was in the dark about the result until the last moment.
8.2. a dark horse: a person who hides special qualities or abilities
He was really a dark horse. No one had expected that he should win.
8.3. keep sth dark: keep sth secret
I won’t tell you about it unless you can keep it dark.
9. PINK
be in the pink: be extremely healthy
The children all looked in the pink after their holiday.
10. BROWN
10.1.as brown as a berry: sun-burnt
When she was back from her holiday, she became as brown as a berry.
10.2. in a brown study: in deep thought
He was sitting in the corner of the library, in a brown study.
作者简介：辛相茂，男，1963.10，汉，江西南昌人，硕士，中学英语高级教师，乌鲁木齐市第一中学教师(兼新疆师范大学外院教育硕士导师)。研究方向：中学英语学科教学。
【Key words】 English idioms, colors
1. RED
1.1 give someone a red-carpet treatment: give someone a warm welcome
We’ll give the guests a red-carpet treatment.
1.2. A red-letter day: a special day, an important or memorable day
It was a red-letter day when I received the admission letter of my dream university.
1.3.a red-hot story: a completely new story
---Do you know Tom will go abroad for college education next semester?
---Really? It’s a red-hot story for me.
1.4. be in the red: be in debt
My bank account is $100 in the red.
1.5.be out of the red: be out of debt
Smart as the company is, it has been out of the red for years.
1.6. not worth a red cent: be worthless
They don’t think the proposal worth a red cent.
1.7. catch sb red-handed: discover sb in the act of doing something wrong or committing a crime
Tom felt guilty. He was caught red-handed while cheating in the exam.
1.8. paint the town red: go out and enjoy oneself in the bars, night clubs, etc
Those guys have dropped out of school and they paint the town red on weekends.
1.9. to see red: to be very angry
Seeing his son’s poor grades in the test, the father saw red.
2.0. red-eye: late-night transportation when passengers are tired and have “red eyes”(夜航航班)
To save money, some passengers prefer red eyes.
2. ORANGE
2.1.as round as an orange: extremely round
Look at the moon tonight. It is as round as an orange.
2.2 an orange gay: a complete gay
---Is Jason an orange gay? ----No, he has a girl friend.
3. GREEN
3.1 a green hand: a person who is inexperienced
Don’t trick me. I’m not a green hand in this field.
3.2. give sb the green light: give sb permission to do sth
Do you think that they will give us the green light to carry on the experiment?
3.3. be green with envy: be very jealous
He was absolutely green with envy when he saw my new Jaguar car. 4. BLUE
4.1 be blue: be sad, depressed
Don’t look so blue---smile.
4.2. once in a blue moon: almost never (难得有一次, 极为罕见)
He is so mean that he lends his money once in a blue moon.
4.3. out of the blue: unexpectedly
Out of the blue, he got a phone call from a friend he hadn’t seen for years.
Disasters always comes to you out of the blue.
4.4. black and blue: be covered with bruises(挫伤)
After the fight, he was black and blue all over.
4.5. scream / shout blue murder: to complain very loudly
Don’t scream blue murder. It’s quite fair.
4.6. a blue-eyed boy: someone’s favorite
Smith is the boss’s blue-eyed boy at the moment.
5. PURPLE
5.1.go purple in the face (气得脸发青)
Seeing his damaged car, he went purple in the face.
5.2. purple-heart: medal awarded to a soldier who has been wounded in the battle
His grandpa possesses two Purple-hearts.
Additional idioms with colors
6. BLACK
6.1. in black and white: in writing or in print (以书面形式,见诸文字)
We need the contact in black and white.
6.2. black out: lose one’s consciousness or memory temporarily
The sudden collision caused the driver to black out.
6.3. a black day: a very bad day
It was a black day when I failed in the exam.
7. WHITE
7.1 a white lie: a harmless lie
For some reason, people need to tell white lies.
7.2. a white hope: a person who is expected to bring great success.
Mike is a regarded as a white hope in his class.
8. DARK
8.1. be in the dark about sth: be in the state of ignorance (对…… 一无所知)
I was in the dark about the result until the last moment.
8.2. a dark horse: a person who hides special qualities or abilities
He was really a dark horse. No one had expected that he should win.
8.3. keep sth dark: keep sth secret
I won’t tell you about it unless you can keep it dark.
9. PINK
be in the pink: be extremely healthy
The children all looked in the pink after their holiday.
10. BROWN
10.1.as brown as a berry: sun-burnt
When she was back from her holiday, she became as brown as a berry.
10.2. in a brown study: in deep thought
He was sitting in the corner of the library, in a brown study.
作者简介：辛相茂，男，1963.10，汉，江西南昌人，硕士，中学英语高级教师，乌鲁木齐市第一中学教师(兼新疆师范大学外院教育硕士导师)。研究方向：中学英语学科教学。