Paterson J. A Dictionary of Colour - A Lexicon of the Language of Colour (анг. яз.)
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433COLOUR PHRASES
Appendix one:
Colour phrases
black and blue; to beat someone
To inflict blows on someone causing bruising; also used figuratively.
black and white; to state something in
To reduce a statement or promise to writing by way of confirmation; to express something
in the clearest terms with a view to avoiding misunderstanding or confusion; to distin-
guish between opposing ideas or statements. In Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing,
Dogberry refers to a matter ‘under white and black’ Act 5, Scene 1.
black as coal; to be as
There are many similes involving black including as black as death, ebony, hell, ink jet,
night, pitch, soot, thunder and as black as the ace of spades, as black as a collier, coalhole,
crow, kettle, pan, raven’s wing, your hat and Newgate’s knocker etc. Saul Bellow, the
author, talks of ‘as black as wealth’.
black as one is painted to be; not as
Not as bad as one appears to be.
black as the inside of a cow
A sailor’s way of expressing nil visibility.
black as thunder; to look as
To look angrily at someone.
blackball someone; to
By casting a black ball in a secret ballot, to vote against someone joining a club etc;
also used figuratively.
434 A DICTIONARY OF COLOUR
black books; to be in someone’s
To be resented by or to have caused annoyance to another usually for some specific
misdeed; to be out of favour with someone. Perhaps from the Black Book in which
Henry VIII recorded the excesses of the monasteries.
blacken someone’s name; to
To disparage another person.
black eye; to give someone a
To cause another’s eye to bruise usually as a result of a fight. Figuratively, to deliver
a severe rebuff to someone.
black is beautiful
A 1965 slogan asserting Black pride.
black is white; to swear
To be prepared to say anything in order to get one’s own way; to be a liar; to argue
an untenable proposition. A favourite game in Victorian times involved transforming
one word into another of equal length. The rules require one letter at a time to be changed
on each occasion leaving another word and to reach the target word in as few changes
as possible. Lewis Carroll changed black into white as follows: black>blank>blink>
clink>chink>chine>whine>white.
black look; to give someone a
To look at a person with contempt or anger.
black mark; to be given a
To be censured for bad conduct or behaviour; to have a punishment recorded on one’s
record; to be regarded with disapproval.
black mark; to get a
To incur the disfavour of someone.
black market; to buy (sell) on the
To carry on trade in breach of the law.
black mood; to be in a
To be very depressed; to be very angry.
435COLOUR PHRASES
black out; to
To lose consciousness or faint; to obliterate with black; to extinguish stage lighting.
black ox has not trod on his (her) foot; the
A common proverb in Renaissance times but now almost lost to us. It indicated that
the subject had a happy marriage or had not yet suffered sorrow or disease or depri-
vation.
black penny; to pay the
To pay the full price for goods or services as opposed to obtaining a discount.
blacks don’t make a white; two
Another form of the saying ‘two wrongs don’t make a right’ – you cannot justify commit-
ting a wrong by arguing that it corrects another wrong.
black sheep of the family; the
A member of a group (such as a family) who has behaved badly or committed some
misdemeanour or crime bringing discredit or disgrace to it; the odd one out; a deviant.
Black sheep were worth less to farmers than white sheep since their wool could not be
dyed like ordinary fleece. In English folklore, however, a black sheep may, depending
on its situation, be regarded as a harbinger of good luck. For example, a ‘black lamb’
indicates good luck in Sussex but bad luck in Wiltshire.
black side; to look on the
To be pessimistic; to expect the worst outcome.
black stump; beyond the
To fall below the standard considered proper in reference to black stumps in the ground
used (in Australia) to indicate the way.
black; the pot calling the kettle
A situation where someone hypocritely accuses another of a failing which the accuser
also possesses. Possibly originating from from Cervantes ‘Don Quixote’ and alluding
to the fact that on the stove ALL utensils get blackened by usage.
black; things look
Said when there does not seem to be any possibility of a successful outcome so that
the worst should be expected.
436 A DICTIONARY OF COLOUR
black; to
To boycott an employer in a labour dispute.
black; to be in the
Operating on a profitable basis; not in debt; to be in credit. Compare being in the red.
black; to go
To pass out or go unconscious as in ‘…and then everything went black’. Used almost
exclusively in the past tense.
black; to look
To look at someone in an angry way.
black; to play
To play chess or draughts with the black pieces.
black/red; to put one’s money on
In the game of roulette, betting on one of the colours.
black; to put up a
To make a serious mistake.
black; to turn
A term used by the Police indicating a fatality.
black; to wear
To wear black clothing usually as a sign of mourning.
black up; to
To colour one’s face with black for a stage performance or for camouflage or for some
nefarious purpose.
black; you can have any colour you like so long as it is
Attributed to Henry Ford (1893-1943) when first selling the Model T Ford in 1922 and
now a catchphrase indicating a situation where there is no (or a very limited ) choice.
blonde bombshell
An attractive blonde – often a film star.
437COLOUR PHRASES
blue; a bolt from (out of) the
Something which is sudden and completely unexpected – as a thunderbolt from a blue
sky would be; hence ‘out of the blue’.
blue-arsed fly; to run (buzz) around like a
To run around in an uncontrolled and excited or frantic manner; to be hectically busy.
The origin of this phrase is difficult to find but perhaps refers to the Bluebottle fly (blowfly)
which has an iridescent blue body.
blue blood; to be of
Of royal, aristocratic or noble blood.
blue; enough blue sky to make a sailor’s trousers
A homespun saying suggesting that if the condition of the phrase was satisfied it was
in order to venture outdoors.
blue-eyed boy; to be a
An especially favoured employee or pupil who can do no wrong; the darling of the
group. The US equivalent is a ‘fair-haired boy’.
blue for a boy and pink for a girl
Used mainly in the UK.
blue funk; to be in a
In a state of extreme fear, anxiety or nervousness; in a state of extreme panic; sometimes
to be in a dejected mood or to be depressed. According to Charles Earl Funk, ‘blue’
here retains its early Oxford University slang meaning of ‘extreme’.
blue in the face; to (do something) until one is
To persist with a particular action (usually) without any effect or without any likeli-
hood of achieving the desired end – often applied to arguing or complaining.
blue moon; to happen once in a
Very rarely; the phrase was used at least as far back as 1528 and originally meant ‘never’.
blue murder; to get away with
To avoid detection or punishment for a crime or misdeed; to do what one wants without
detection or punishment.
438 A DICTIONARY OF COLOUR
blue murder; to scream
To make a lot of noise in alarm, opposition or complaint. Possibly originating from the
fact that ‘murder’ used to be a cry for help from someone in danger (Shakespeare’s
Othello Act 1 Scene 27, ‘ I am maym’d for euer: Helpe hoa: Murther, murther’). Alternatively,
the phrase may be derived from the French expletive ‘morbleu’ (blue death) which in
turn was a corruption of ‘mordieu’.
blue pencil; to use a
To delete or censor a piece of writing alluding to the blue pencil of the censor.
blues; to have the
To be sad, despondent or depressed.
blue sea; to be between the devil and the deep
To find oneself in a position where neither of two alternative solutions to a dilemma
would be palatable. Tom Burnam, in the Dictionary of Misinformation, Thomas Y. Crowell
suggests that the ‘devil’ here may merely refer to the seam in a ship’s hull which, though
a dangerous place for a sailor to be, was preferable to falling into the sea. This seems
to be a plausible explanation where ‘devil’ means the upper plank of a sailing ship.
blue streak; to talk a
To talk quickly; to speak interminably. In reference to a streak of lightning and its rapidity.
blue; the boys in
Members of the police force or navy by way of allusion to the colour of their uniforms;
in the US, Federal troops.
blue touchpaper and retire; to light the
To sit back and wait for the action in reference to the instructions on fireworks. A catch-
phrase of Arthur Askey in the pre-WW2 BBC radio programme Bandwagon.
blue water between the two; there is clear
Descriptive of any contest where there is a clear leader. Used often, for example, in
relation to the relative popularity of opposing political parties as indicated by opinion
polls. Derives from boat races.
blue yonder; the wild
Referring to the sea or sky.
439COLOUR PHRASES
blue; to
To treat laundry with blueing as part of the washing process.
blue; to
To spend lavishly.
blue; to be a true
To be extremely constant or loyal usually to a cause. This is derived from Coventry
blue an extremely lightfast dye. Blue was adopted as the colour of the Whigs and Tories
thus becoming associated with an opposition to change.
blue; to be tangled up in
Possibly originating from Bob Dylan’s much celebrated and enigmatic 1974 song ‘Tangled
Up In Blue’ which appears to be dealing with depression and mental illness. Other lyrics
used by Dylan include ‘Like a bird that flew, tangled up in blue’ and ‘tangled up in the
blueprints’.
blue; to come out of the
To occur or arise unexpectedly or without warning; also ‘bolt from the blue’.
blue; to feel
To feel sad.
blue; to look
To look unhappy.
blue; to make the air turn blue
To swear profusely.
blue; to vanish (go off) into the
To disappear.
break up colour [with another colour]; to
To introduce another colour in clothing or decoration.
bright spark; a
A lively person; a clever person.
440 A DICTIONARY OF COLOUR
brown as a berry; to be
Suntanned, having a dark skin. Used in Chaucer’s Prologue to the Canterbury Tales:
’His palfrey was as broun as is a berye’ The Monk’s portrait.
brown study; to be in a
To be fed up; to be deep in thought. From the French ‘brun’ indicating melancholy or
gloomy. Also sometimes meaning absentminded.
browned off; to be
To be fed up. There are many equivalent slang phrases including cheesed off, peed
off, pissed off, brassed off, hacked off etc.
carte blanche
Having complete freedom of action or power to act as one will. A French military expres-
sion literally meaning ‘white paper’ signifying a blank sheet on which the vanquishing
side can dictate whatever terms of surrender it wishes.
clear as mud; to be
Obscure or unclear.
colour; a horse of a different
An entirely separate matter; a change of plan. In Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night Act 2
Scene 3 Maria in talking of her plans says: ‘My purpose is, indeed a horse of that colour’.
colour; a riot of
Indicating a profusion of bright and varied colours often in reference to a display of
flowers.
colour; a splash of
The addition of a bright or contrasting colour to an otherwise ordinary background.
colour of –; to do (say) something under
To use some pretext or excuse for a particular action.
colour of someone’s money; to require to see the
To require proof of a person’s ability to make payment for something.
colour something in; to
To fill an empty space with colour as in a child’s colouring book.
441COLOUR PHRASES
colour; to change
To go pale or red with fear or embarrassment.
colour; to feel (be) (look) off
To feel or to appear unwell in a non-specific way.
colour; to lose
As regards one’s complexion, to go pale.
colour to one’s cheeks; to bring some
To do something the effect of which is to make the face more pink or more red thus
giving the appearance of better health.
colour to something; to lend (give)
To assist in giving something the appearance of truth; to give credence to something;
to make something appear plausible; to endorse.
colour to something; to give false
To give a false or misleading impression.
colour; to turn
To change colour as for example in the case of ripening fruit or autumn leaves.
colour up; to
To go red in the face; to blush; to exchange gambling chips for others of a higher denom-
ination so as to reduce the number on the table. In the US white is usually the value of
$1 chips; red the colour of $5 chips; green of the $25 and black the colour of $100 chips.
colours of the rainbow; all the
All the colours of the visible spectrum.
colours one’s opinion; to be told something which
To receive information which has the effect of changing one’s mind or influencing one’s
pre-existing views.
colours; the coat of many
Joseph’s multi-coloured coat Genesis xxxvii:3.
442 A DICTIONARY OF COLOUR
colours; to desert one’s
To become a deserter; to change sides; to go against one’s principles – colours refer-
ring here to the flag in battle.
colours; to get one’s
To be selected to play for one’s school, university or country in some sporting activity
or competition and thus to be awarded a cap or badge or other recognition.
colours; to join the
To join the army.
colours; to lower one’s
To cease to defend a course of action – as a defeated army would lower its flag.
colours; to paint someone (something) in glowing
To speak of someone in very favourable terms.
colours; to pass with flying
To succeed in an examination with excellent marks or distinction referring to the colours
of a winning army triumphantly displayed.
colours; to sail under false
To pretend to subscribe to particular views or beliefs; to deceive others about one’s
antecedents.
colours; to see someone in their true
To understand the true nature of someone – Act 2, Scene 2 in Shakespeare’s Henry IV
Part 2.
colours; to show (oneself in) one’s true
To show one’s true self.
colours to the mast; to pin (or nail) one’s
To indicate or promise support as, for example, by attaching a ship’s flag to its mast
thus showing a commitment not to lower one’s colours in surrender; to declare one’s
views on a particular subject. See to lower one’s colours.