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black and white :
thinking of everything or judging everything as either good or
bad
e.g." He tries to see everything in
black and white although he knows this is impossible."
black out: darken by
putting out or dimming electric lights
e.g." During the war people in the
cities were forced to black out their windows so that the
enemy aircraft could not see them."
black out: prevent or
silence information or communication
e.g." The government decided to black
out all of the information related to the political prisoner."
black out: lose
consciousness
e.g." Suddenly the man blacked out
during the parade and had to be helped to a quiet place."
black sheep (of the family):
a person who is a disgrace to a family or group
e.g." The man is the black sheep in
his family and is the only member who has not made a success
of his life."
blue in the face: very
angry or upset, excited and very emotional
e.g." He argued with her until he was
blue in the face."
brown bag it: take a
lunch to work
e.g." I have had to brown bag it every
day this week as the company cafeteria is closed for repair
work."
catch (someone) red-handed:
catch someone in the middle of doing something wrong
e.g." The woman was caught red-handed
at the store trying to steal some cosmetics."
give someone the green light:
give permission to go ahead with a project
e.g." We were finally given the green
light to begin setting up the new project."
grass is always greener on
the other side: a place that is far away or different
seems better than where we are now
e.g." He realized that the grass is
always greener on the other side when he saw that his new job
wasn't perfect and had its own problems too."
Green: inexperienced,
immature
e.g." He is rather green and doesn't
have enough experience to drive the large piece of machinery
yet."
green belt: an area of
fields and trees around a town
e.g." The city has a policy of
increasing the green belt around the city."
green thumb: a talent for
gardening, ability to make things grow
e.g." She has a green thumb and is
able to grow one of the best gardens in our neighborhood."
green with envy: very
jealous, full of envy
e.g." I was green with envy when I
heard that she would be going to London for a week while I had
to stay and work."
horse of a different color:
something totally separate and different
e.g." I know that he would like to
discuss that issue now but it is a horse of a different color
and we should discuss it at another time."
in the black: successful
or profitable
e.g." The company has been in the
black since they began to adopt many new ideas to cut costs."
in the red: lose money,
unprofitable
e.g." The company has been in the red
for three years now - ever since their exports to Asia
decreased by 35 per cent."
look at (see) the world
through rose-colored glasses: see only the good things
about something, be too optimistic
e.g." He always looks at the world
through rose-colored glasses and is never able to understand
that some people are dishonest.
off-color: in bad taste,
rude, dirty
e.g." He told an off-color joke at the party that
made his wife very angry."
once in a blue moon:
rarely
e.g." We go out for Italian food once
in a blue moon although we enjoy it very much."
out of the blue: without
any warning, by surprise
e.g." I don't understand what is the
matter. Right out of the blue he decided to quit his job and
go and live in Europe."
paint the town red: go
out and party and have a good time
e.g." When my cousin came to visit us
we decided to go out and paint the town red."
pink slip: termination
notice from a job
e.g." I received my pink slip last
week and am now looking for a new job."
pot calling the kettle black:
the person who is criticizing someone else is as guilty as the
person he accuses
e.g." She was criticizing me for not
looking for a new job but that is like the pot calling the
kettle black. She isn't looking for a new job either."
red herring: an
unimportant matter that draws attention away from the main
subject
e.g." Suddenly talking about the
strike was a red herring and didn't do anything to deal with
today's problems."
red-letter day: a day
that is memorable because of some important event
e.g." It was a red-letter day when she
finally received her graduation diploma."
red tape: excessive
formalities in official business
e.g." Many businesses have been
complaining about the amount of red tape that they must deal
with in order to get anything done with the government."
roll out the red carpet:
greet a person with great respect, give a big welcome
e.g." When the King of Jordon visited
Washington, they rolled out the red carpet and gave him a
great welcome."
see red: become very
angry
e.g." He really saw red last night
when I told him that I wouldn't be coming to work today."
show one's true colors:
show what one is really like
e.g." I know that she doesn't like me
but she was showing her true colors when she began yelling at
me on the telephone."
tickled pink: be very
pleased, thrill, delight
e.g." She was tickled pink that you made the effort
to go and visit her when you were in town."
white elephant: a useless
possession
e.g." The new stereo that he bought is
a white elephant and he doesn't need it at all."
white as a ghost: very
pale because of fear, shock, illness etc.
e.g." My sister became white as a
ghost when she saw the man at the window."
white lie: a harmless lie
(told to be polite or to do something not seriously wrong)
e.g." I told my boss a white lie and
said that I was sick yesterday when actually I wasn't."
white sale: the selling
at a reduced price of towels or sheets etc.
e.g." We went to the white sale at the
department store in order to buy some new sheets before my
parents come to visit."
with flying colors: with
great or total success
e.g." She passed her course with
flying colors and now wants to go out and celebrate."
yellow-bellied: extremely
timid, cowardly
e.g." He is a yellow-bellied coward
and never is willing to fight for what is right."
yellow streak: cowardice
in one's character
e.g."
He has a yellow streak running down his back and is not a good
person to expect to support you when things become difficult."
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