Archive for July, 2014

Color idioms

July 14th, 2014 in Expressions

Be green with envy

To be green with envy is to be unhappy because you wish you had something that someone else has.

  • Margaret will be green with envy when she sees your new car.

Have green fingers

When you have green fingers, you are good at growing plants.

  • Alice has green fingers. Look at her garden.

Once in a blue moon

If something happens once in a blue moon, it happens very rarely.

  • I visit them once in a blue moon.

Scream blue murder

To scream blue murder is to shout very loudly because you are in great pain or you are very angry.

  • The little girl screamed blue murder while the doctor tried to give her an injection.

Talk a blue streak

To talk a blue streak is to talk a lot without pausing.

  • The boy didn’t talk until he was five and then he started talking a blue streak.

Turn the air blue

To turn the air blue is to use a lot of swear words because you are angry.

  • When he discovered that he had been cheated he turned the air blue.

Until/till you are blue in the face

This informal expression is used to suggest that there is no point in doing something because you will not succeed.

Shrinking violet

A shrinking violet is a very shy person.