Idioms - Expresions

Colours

red tape

excessive bureaucracy (bộ máy quan liêu) or complicated rules

Ex: Rescue work is often hampered by red tape at national borders.

a red herring

a fact, idea, or subject that takes people's attention away from the central point being considered

Ex: The police investigated many clues, but they were all red herrings.

see red

to become very angry

Ex: People who don't finish a job really make me see red.

paint the town red

to go out and enjoy yourself by drinking alcohol, dancing, laughing with friends, etc.

Ex: I'm ready to paint the town red with a few of my closest friends.

catch sb red-handed

catch sb in the act of a crime

Ex: He was caught red-handed taking money from the till.

be like a red rag to a bull

to be certain to produce an angry or violent reaction

Ex: Talking about his problems is like a red rag to a bull for him.

roll/lay out the red carpet

give special attention to an important visitor

Ex: We'll roll out the red carpet for the senator.

green fingers

good at gardening

Ex: I wish I had green fingers like you.

be/turn green with envy

be/become very jealous

Ex: Chad is heading off to Spain for the week, and I'm green with envy.

be green

be naive (ngây thơ), easily deceived (bị lừa)

Ex: You can’t stay green forever—you have to learn from mistakes.

give sb/sth the green light

give sb permission to do sth

Ex: The council has given the green light to the new shopping centre.

blue blood

royal, aristocratic (quý tộc) in origin

a blue-collar worker

sb who works in a factory

Ex: Many blue-collar workers lost their jobs during the crisis.

out of the blue

unexpectedly

Ex: One day, out of the blue, she announced that she was leaving.

once in a blue moon

very rarely

Ex: We see each other once in a blue moon these days.

turn blue with cold

feel very cold

Ex: He forgot his coat and almost turned blue with cold.

vanish/go off into the blue

go away unexpectedly, disappear suddenly

Ex: He suddenly went off into the blue without telling anyone.

a white lie

a harmless untruth

Ex: Sometimes it’s okay to tell a white lie to avoid hurting someone’s feelings.

a white-collar worker

sb who works in an office

Ex: She has a white-collar job in a big company.

white spirit

Dung môi (xăng thơm) dùng để pha sơn hoặc làm sạch sơn

Ex: Add a little white spirit to thin the paint.

as white as a sheet/ghost

pale (tái nhợt) because of fear, shock or illness

Ex: She went as white as a sheet when she heard the news.

a white elephant

sth large and expensive but useless

Ex: The Olympic committee discourages host cities from building sports venues that turn into costly white elephants.

swear black is white

say sth is true when it’s not

Ex: Even with evidence, he kept swearing black is white.

a black look

an expression on your face that is full of anger and hate

Ex: She gave me a black look.

a black sheep

a person who has done something bad that brings embarrassment or shame to his or her family

Ex: He's the black sheep of the family.

in the black

earning more money than you spend

Ex: This year our business is in the black.

in sb’s black books

not in favour with sb

Ex: Try not to get into your boss’s black books.

not as black as sb/it is painted

not as bad as people say

Ex: The exam wasn’t as black as it was painted.

a grey area

a subject about which little is known

Ex: The difference between gross negligence and recklessness is a legal grey area.

grey matter

intellectual (trí tuệ) or mental capacity

be browned off

be fed up (chán ngấy), annoyed

Ex: I think she gets a bit browned off with him borrowing the car all the time.

go/turn purple with rage

dark red in the face because of anger

Ex: She was purple in the face and her friend had to hold her back.

feel off colour

slightly ill

Ex: I'm feeling a bit off-colour today.

with flying colours

with great success

Ex: She passed the exam with flying colours.