Color Idioms

" A red rag to a bull "
Meaning:
A deliberate provocation.
Example:
Telling Putin that he is macho as a response to being small in stature was like a red rag to a bull.

" Amber nectar "
Meaning:
A slang term for lager.
Example:
I've been in the outback all day rounding up sheep and my throat's as dry as a pommies towel. I'm just about ready to sink a few tinnies of the amber nectar.


" Amber nectar "
Meaning:
A slang term for lager.
Example:
I've been in the outback all day rounding up sheep and my throat's as dry as a pommies towel. I'm just about ready to sink a few tinnies of the amber nectar.

" Brown out "
Meaning:
1. A partial failure of the electricity supply. 
2. The exposing of one's buttocks in public.
Example:
1. After the lightning struck there was a puff of smoke and everything went dim. Looks like a brown out.

" Cherry ripe "
Meaning:
Cockney rhyming slang for pipe.
Example:
Get me twenty cigarettes while you are out would you? - and some tobacco for my cherry ripe.




" Dead white European male "
Meaning:
Derogatory reference to someone who has an unjustified reputation.
Example:
John Ruskin is a hero to some people in the art world but I can't see him as anything other than a dead, white, European male

" Get a gold star "
Meaning:
Earn a merit point for doing well.
Example:
Well done Juliet. 100% in your maths test = you are due a gold star.

" Ginger Beer "
Meaning:
Cockney rhyming slang for queer.
Example:
Julian is ginger - and I don't mean that he's got red hair.

" Mellow yellow "
Meaning:
Dried banana peel, used as an intoxicant.
Example:
He's tried everything else - grass, acid, speed, magic mushrooms. Now he's started on mellow yellow.




" Once in a blue moon "
Meaning:
A rare occurrence.
Example:
West Bromwich Albion have won the cup. but only every once in a blue moon.

" Paint the town red "
Meaning:
Go on a boisterous or exuberant spree
Example:
It's the last day of term and everyone wants to party. Why don't we paint the town red?

" Red letter day "
Meaning:
A significant, important or happy day.
Example:
Mom will be a hundred years old on the 23rd. That's a real red-letter day for the family.

" Red tape "
Meaning:
Bureaucracy, especially in public business.
Example:
It's hardly worth applying for a grant from the council. There's so much red tape to contend with it will take years.

" Silver bullet "
Meaning:
A simple and seeming effortless solution to a difficult problem.
Example:
We are thousands in debt. That loan seemed to be the silver bullet that would sort out our problems, but it really wasn't.

" Silver fox "
Meaning:
A handsome grey-haired man.
Example:
Richard Gere used to be the typical matinee idol. These days he's a real silver fox.

" Silver surfer "
Meaning:
An older person who uses the World Wide Web.
Example:
Granny didn't want the iPad we bought her but since we showed her how to Skype the kids in Australia she's become a real silver surfer.

" Silver threads amongst the gold "
Meaning:
Blonde hair that is turning grey.
Example:
Thirty years ago Janine had strawberry blonde hair. These days she's going grey, or as she prefers to say silver threads among the gold.




" Silver tongued "
Meaning:
Eloquent or persuasive manner of speech.
Example:
Reagan didn't always have much in the way of policies but he certainly could hold a crowd with his silver tongued speeches

" White elephant "
Meaning:
An object that appears magnificent but which is a burdensome financial liability.
Example:
The Empire State Building was a remarkable achievement but, for years after it was built, it had few tenants and was really a white elephant for its developers.

" Yellow belly "
Meaning: 
A coward.
Example:
He wouldn't fight in WWI. Some said he was a yellow belly, but I'd call him a pacifist.