PRESENTATION ABOUT COLORS IDIOMS

Hi, mates! In this entry, you can reproduce a video that explains seven idioms, from the hand of Adam, very interesting. I hope you enjoy it!

• See through rose-tinted/coloured glasses. Origin: This term began to be used figuratively in the 1850s and found its way into print in 1861, when it was first recorded in ‘Tom Brown at Oxford’ by English novelist Thomas Hughes. Example: He is very optimistic! Mr Macawber sees through rose-tinted glasses (The Pickwick Papers, Charles Dickens). The quivalent in spanish is ‘ver el mundo de color de rosa’.

• Give someone the green light. Origin: The term is a reference to the green traffic signal, indicating "go ahead". Example: John wants to cook in my house, and I gave him the green light. The equivalent in Spanish is the same, ‘dar la luz verde’.

• Pass with flying colors. Origin: This term is related to the flags of ships. It was used to express a commitment. Example: He pass the interview with flying colours. The equivalent in Spanish is ‘salir airoso de…’.

• To be tickled pink. Origin: The tickling pink concept is of enjoyment great enough to make the recipient glow with pleasure. In 1910, in an Illinois' newspaper - The Daily Review, in a piece titled 'Lauder Tickled at Change', we have:  "Grover Laudermilk was tickled pink over Kinsella's move in buying him from St. Louis”. The equivalent in Spanish is ‘estar encantado o como unas castañuelas’.

• Paint the town red. Origin: This term comes from the metaphor applied to bonfires painting the sky or scenery red. This originates from US slang. The earliest recorded use is 1884, and the OED quotes the Chicago Advance (1897): `The boys painted the town [New York City] red with firecrackers [on Independence Day]'. The equivalent in Spanish is ‘salir, de parranda, de fiesta, de marcha’.

• Blue/white/pink collared worker. Origin: White-collar work is performed in an office, cubicle, or other administrative setting. Blue-collar worker, whose job requires manual labor and a pink-collar worker, whose labor is related to customer interaction, entertainment, sales, or other service-oriented work. The term refers to the white dress shirts of male office workers common through most of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in Western countries, as opposed to the blue overalls worn by many manual laborers. The term "white collar" is credited to Upton Sinclair, an American writer. Example: His first response was a plan to streamline management, reducing the company's white-collar ranks through attrition. The equivalent in Spanish is literally ‘trabajador de cuello blanco, azul o rosa’.

• See things in black and white. Origin: This term is based on the clear difference between the colors or refers to the connotations of the color white (bright, positive, happiness) and the connotations of the color black (darkness, negative, sadness). Example: He is very comprehensible, he sees things in black and white. The equivalent in Spanish is literally ‘ver las cosas en blanco y negro’.

ONCE IN A BLUE MOON

- MEANING

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

- ORIGIN

Today it means very rarely, but originally it used to mean something that was absurd, right along the lines of "when pigs fly". The first recorded use of a form of the phrase is in an anti-clerical pamphlet published in 1528 by William Roy and Jeremy Barlowe. In a conversation between these two characters, one say: "yf they say the mone is blewe", It appears to be a reference to priest at the time making statements and expecting the average person to believe they were true.

As stated, in the early days the definition meant something that was impossible or would never happen; it wasn't until 1821 with the publication of Real Life in London by Pierce Egan that we see "once in a blue moon" meaning "rarely".

- EXAMPLES

• My son lives in New Zealand and she only comes to see us once in a blue moon; maybe evrery four years.
• We live in a town in the desert now. It's hot and dry most days, and once in a blue moon it will rain.    

   TO ROLL OUT THE RED CARPET

     

      - MEANING

To treat someone very well, like royalty.

- ORIGIN

It is based on the use of red carpets for important events where, normally, important people such as monarchs or artist appear.

- EXAMPLES

• Our most important client is coming  to the enterprise next week, so let's roll out the red carpet and take him out to dinner.
• That man is such an habitual client in that restaurant that every time he goes there, it seems they roll out a red carpet.

   WAVE A WHITE FLAG

   

     - MEANING

     Universal symbol meaning truce or surrender.

     - ORIGIN

       The first mention of the usage of white flags to surrender is made during the Eastern Han dinasty (A.D. 25-220). In the Roman Empire the historian Cornelius Tacitus mentions a white flag of surrender in A.D. 109. Before that time, Roman armies would surrender by holding their shields above their heads. The white flag was widely used in the Middle Ages in Western Europe to indicate an intent to surrender. The colour white was used generally to indicate a person was exempt from combat; heralds bore white wands, prisoners or hostages captured in battle would attach a piece of white paper to their hat or helmet, and garrisons that had surrendered and been promised safe passage would carry white batons.

     - EXAMPLES 

• The enemy waved a white flag as symbol of surrender.
• After the argument, Tom waved a white flag.

As this week "there are colours everywhere", let's listen to She's a Rainbow, by The Rolling Stones!!

THE BLACK SHEEP OF THE FAMILY

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.

BLACK MARKET

- The place where goods or money are illegally bought and sold. In Spanish is “mercado negro”

Example: We sold some cigarettes on the black market during our travels.

ORIGIN

-Its origin was during World War II and it meant the market in buying and selling stolen military supplies. The term had also seen before, during the World War I, when it entered English as a translation of the German 'Schwarzmarkt.' But if you found more information, there’s another possibility: the phrase could have started in 1931 and meant "unauthorized dealing in commodities that are rationed.”

BLUE BLOOD

-It means that there’s someone from a noble, wealthy or aristocratic family. In Spanish means “sangre azul”

Example: Many of the blue bloods of the town went to the opening of the opera.

ORIGIN

During Queen Victoria’s period is used to call a person of royal heritage in many European countries. A popular theory is that describes a condition caused by a rare genetic defect that it’s common in some royal families, because of their habit of only marrying other members of European royal families. So, there was an increasing “haemophilia” tendency inherited by royals.

The actual origin of the term “Blue Blood” for royalty comes from the Spanish phrase “Sangre Azul”, and it used to describe the fact that when the Spanish were conquering lands held by the Moors, the Spanish nobility showed  that they had white, through which blue veins were easily seen, as proof that they were not related to the darker skinned Moors.

Born with a silver spoon in one's mouth

-It means to born into a wealthy family. In Spanish there isn’t any equivalent expression.

                                      
                                      ORIGIN                                        This is commonly a phrase to refer to the British aristocracy. "It was a common proverb that few lawyers were born with silver spoons in their mouths."

Mediaeval spoons were usually made of wood. Spoon was also the name of  a piece of wood and it is likely that is how the table utensils. It has been a tradition in many countries for wealthy godparents to give a silver spoon to their godchildren at christening ceremonies. Another theory may be derived from the fact that wealthy people ate from silver spoons while others couldn’t do it.

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COLOUR IDIOMS

Gap-fill exercise

Fill in all the gaps, then press "Check" to check your answers. You can also click on the "[?]" button to get a clue. Note that you will lose points if you ask for hints or clues!

1. John: Do you go to the cinema with Mary? Helen: black sheepblue bloodgolden opportunitygreen with envyOnce in a blue moonpaint the town redpink sliprolled out the red carpetthe black marketthe green light, I usually go with Peter.
2. When Anne's boyfriend came to her parents' house, her mother black sheepblue bloodgolden opportunitygreen with envyOnce in a blue moonpaint the town redpink sliprolled out the red carpetthe black marketthe green light.
3. The film we saw last week is about selling drugs on black sheepblue bloodgolden opportunitygreen with envyOnce in a blue moonpaint the town redpink sliprolled out the red carpetthe black marketthe green light.
4. Peter refuses to allow anyone who is not of black sheepblue bloodgolden opportunitygreen with envyOnce in a blue moonpaint the town redpink sliprolled out the red carpetthe black marketthe green light enter in the party.
5.The professor gave us black sheepblue bloodgolden opportunitygreen with envyOnce in a blue moonpaint the town redpink sliprolled out the red carpetthe black marketthe green light to begin the new project of sciences.
6. On Thursdays, people usually go out and black sheepblue bloodgolden opportunitygreen with envyOnce in a blue moonpaint the town redpink sliprolled out the red carpetthe black marketthe green light.
7. After her maternity leave, she received her black sheepblue bloodgolden opportunitygreen with envyOnce in a blue moonpaint the town redpink sliprolled out the red carpetthe black marketthe green light.
8.It was my black sheepblue bloodgolden opportunitygreen with envyOnce in a blue moonpaint the town redpink sliprolled out the red carpetthe black marketthe green light and she forced me to reject it because she wanted it too.
9. Alex was the black sheepblue bloodgolden opportunitygreen with envyOnce in a blue moonpaint the town redpink sliprolled out the red carpetthe black marketthe green light in our family. He studied medicine while his brothers studied philology.
10. I was black sheepblue bloodgolden opportunitygreen with envyOnce in a blue moonpaint the town redpink sliprolled out the red carpetthe black marketthe green light when I heard that my friend was going to New York for honeymoon.