Rainbow
in writing or in print
in black and white
unexpectedly; without warning (adv)
out of the blue (adv)
to owe money to your bank because you have spent more than you have in your account (v)
to be in the red(s) (v)
used to describe someone who is extremely jealous, full of envy (adj)
to be green with envy (adj)
a person who is different from the rest of their family or another group, and who is considered bad or embarrassing
the black sheep
used to describe an idea or a way of looking at a situation as being better or more positive than it really is (adv)
to look/see (the world/things) through rose-tinted glasses
used to describe someone from a noble, aristocratic or wealthy family (n)
blue blood (n)
to catch somebody in the act of doing something wrong or committing a crime (v)
to catch someone/somebody red-handed (v)
said about people who never seem happy with what they have and always think they could be happier in a different place or situation
the grass is (always) greener on the other side (of the fence)
a large sum of money that is paid to a retiring manager or director, or to a redundant worker (n)
a golden handshake (n)
a ‘little’ or ‘harmless’ lie told in order to be polite and avoid hurting someone’s feelings, or do something that is not seriously wrong
a white lie
to occur extremely rarely, or only once in a lifetime (adv)
once in a blue moon (adv)
when a company loses a lot of money, rather than making money (v)
to bleed red ink
used to describe someone with a talent for gardening, having the ability to make plants grow
to have a green thumb
when you are given something or receive something, but you do not have to do much to get it (v)
to give/to receive something on a silver platter (v)
someone who is seen as a coward or extremely timid (adj)
to be yellow-bellied
a company or an investment is thought to be safe and likely to make a profit (adj)
blue(-)chip (adj)
to go to a lot of different bars, clubs, etc. and enjoy yourself (v)
to paint the town red (v)
used as a way of talking about being jealous (n)
the green-eyed monster
to be very pleased or happy (adj)
to be tickled pink (adj)
very well; with a very high mark (adv)
with flying colours (adv)
to scream loudly and for a long time, especially in order to protest about something (v)
to scream blue murder (v)
to become very angry (v)
to see red (v)
the first signs that an economy is growing again after a recession (n)
the green shoots (n)
To reveal one’s true nature (v)
To show your true colours (v)