Idiom | Meaning | Example Sentence |
beet red | dark red (usually to describe face) | My sister's face turned beet red when I caught her singing in front of a mirror. |
black and blue | bruised and beaten | We found the poor guy black and blue near the train tracks. |
black and white | straight forward, very clear | The rules we gave the kids were black and white. No answering the phone or the door. |
black out | faint | I always black out at the sight of blood. |
black sheep | the odd or bad member of the group | My oldest brother was the black sheep in our family. He dropped out of school at fifteen. |
born with a silver spoon in one's mouth | born into a rich family | Keiko hasn't worked a day in her life. She was born with a silver spoon in her mouth. |
catch red handed | catch someone in the act of doing something wrong or illegal | The kids were caught red handed stealing chocolate bars. |
golden opportunity | the perfect chance | The models' conference was a golden opportunity for me to sell my beauty products. |
grass is always greener on the other side | you always want what you don't have | I always wanted to go to university, but now I wish I had time to get a job. Grass is always greener on the other side. |
grey area, gray area | something without a clear rule or answer | Writing personal email in the office is a grey area that needs to be discussed at the next meeting. |
the green light | permission | The builders were given the green light to begin the tower. |
green with envy | very jealous | I am green with envy over Julio's new wardrobe. |
(have a) green thumb | be skillful in the garden | You can tell by her flower garden that Sheila has a green thumb. |
have the blues | be sad or depressed | I always have the the blues during the winter time. |
in the dark | unaware | Antoine left his wife in the dark about their honeymoon destination until they got to the airport. |
in the red | in debt | When we were in the red we almost had to sell the house. |
once in a blue moon | very rarely | We only go out for dinner once in a blue moon. |
out of the blue | unexpectedly | I got a phone call from a long lost cousin out of the blue last week. |
red tape | official or bureaucratic tasks | There is still some red tape to deal with in terms of the inheritance. |
red eye | an airplane flight that takes off after midnight | I caught the red eye so that I would see the sunrise over the mountains. |
roll out the red carpet | treat someone like royalty | When relatives come to town my grandmother rolls out the red carpet. |
rose coloured glasses | unrealistic view | Paula imagines Hollywood with rose coloured glasses. |
see red | be very angry | I saw red when that guy grabbed my sister's purse. |
tickled pink | very pleased and appreciative | My mom was tickled pink when my father brought roses home for her. |
true colours | real self | Suzanne doesn't show her true colours when we have guests over. |
white lie | an innocent lie to protect another person's feelings | We told Grandma that her cake was delicious, which was actually a white lie. |
with flying colours | with distinction | I passed my road test with flying colours. |