Meaning: someone who is thought to be a bad person by the rest of their family as in ``my father was the black sheet of the family, he ran away at 16 to become an actor and his parents never forgave him´´
The equivalent in Spanish would be ``la oveja negra de la familia´´
Origin: the term originated from the occasional black sheet which are born into a flock of white sheet due to a genetic process of recessive traits. Black wool was considered commercially undesirable because it could not be dyed. In 18th and 19th century England, the black colour of the sheet was seen as the mark of the devil. In modern age, the expression has lost some of its negative connotations, though the term is usually given to the member of a group who has certain characteristics or lack thereof deemed undesirable by that group.
WHITE LIE
Meaning: if you tell a white lie, you say something that isn't true in order to be polite or so as not to hurt someone's feelings. For example ``sometimes it's better to tell a white lie than to to tell a painful truth´´
The equivalent in Spanish would be ``una mentira piadosa´´
Origin: it's based on the ancient western idea of polar opposites, represented in popular culture throught white meaning good and black its evil antithesis. A white lie is one that lacks evil intent, as opposed to a black lie, which is most certainly malevolent, though normally one said in order to avoid hurting someone's feelings. The term is first found in the 18th century.
GREEN WITH ENVY
Meaning: appearing jealous and to be very unhappy because someone has something taht you want as in `` Ben's heading off to Spain for the week, and I'm green with envy´´
The equivalent on Spanish would be ``estar verde de envidia´´
Origin: green is traditionally a colour associated with illness, dating back to the Greeks. But it wasn't until Shakespeare that the notion of being ``green with envy´´ really started to take shape.
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