(Answers from last time: 1. get wind of; 2. chasing rainbows; 3. see which way the wind is blowing; 4. under the weather; 5. reach for the moon; 6. rain on your parade; 7. a storm in a teacup; 8. steal her thunder)

Hello,

Colours have a great impact on our lives. Colours can define individual moods and I think that it is very interesting to see what they mean to people. Today we are going to talk about colours, namely about the connection between their meanings and some idioms.

Market wallpapersThe most popular colour all over the world is blue. This colour is associated with spirituality and is the colour of distance: oceans, skies, the heavens. Maybe here lies the origin of the idioms out of the blue (very unexpectedly) and once in a blue moon (very rarely). Similarly, if you say something until you are blue in the face, you are wasting your time and efforts, because no one listens to you and you will get no results.

The colour blue creates a feeling of calm and trust, but it is also believed to be depressing. Maybe that’s why you can say you have or get the blues when you are or become sad and depressed. (e.g. I get the blues every time it’s rainy outside.)

Red is an intense colour and evokes vitality. It is the colour of activity, energy, enthusiasm, heat, interest and passion. That’s why we say we paint the town red when we go out and party and have a good time. But this colour also represents violence, anger, willpower and aggression. It increases the metabolism rate and blood pressure. We can use this colour in idioms such as: your ears are red (when you are embarrassed) or you see red (when you become very angry).

Green symbolises nature, freshness, life, growth, fertility, but too much green may imply envy and jealousy, whereas pale lemon green stands for sickness.  Here are some interesting idioms with green:

Have green fingers / have a green thumb – if you have green fingers or a green thumb you are good at gardening. When you want to say that someone is inexperienced, you can say that he/ she is green.

Be green with envy – you can use this phrase to talk about someone who is very jealous or envious or you can say ‘He has been eaten up by the green-eyed monster’, meaning by jealousy.

But if you are or look green about/around the gills it means you look sick (e.g. She looked green around the gills after the long flight.)

Yellow is considered the happiest colour. It is the colour of optimism, happiness and energy. But yellow also connotes a cowardly attitude.

Hence the idiom to have a yellow belly or to have a yellow streak (down someone’s back), which means to be cowardly.

Pink is a positive colour inspiring calm, warmth, joy and happiness, comfort and contentment, a sense that everything will be okay.

You can say that you are in the pink, that is in very good health or tickled pink when you are very pleased or delighted by someone or something (e.g. My friend was tickled pink when I bought her that vase.)

That’s all for now. Don’t miss the second part of the article.

Till next time I hope you’ll be in the pink! :)

Sursa foto, aici.

Autor: Cecilia Stănia – Trainer intern A_BEST Limba Engleză

Cecilia Stănia este absolventă a Facultăţii de Limbi şi Literaturi Străine Dimitrie Cantemir, specializarea Studii Limba şi literatura Engleză– Limba şi Literatura Germană, promoţia 2010.

Cecilia a fost mereu interesată să-şi îmbunătăţească cunoştinţele de limba engleză, de aceea ea a urmat modulul Psihopedagogic Nivelul I.

În calitate de trainer A_BEST, Cecilia predă engleza – limbaj general şi business – în mediul corporate.