List of Popular Color Idioms with Meaning & Examples in English

A lot of English idioms use colors to describe feelings. Below are common color idioms in English.

Table of Contents

Color Idioms

List of Idioms about Color

To see red
Green with envy
To feel blue
Yellow-bellied
Tickled pink
Golden opportunity
Black sheep
Beet red
Black out

Idioms List with Meaning & Examples

To see red

Meaning: Very angry
Example: Sarah was seeing red when her computer suddenly crashed.

We probably use red to describe anger because people’s faces turn red when they are angry. Imagine you became so angry your eyes became red, too. Then you might begin to “see red.”

Green with envy

Meaning: Wanting something someone else has
Example: When John brought home his expensive car, his neighbor Tom was green with envy.

I’m not sure why people are green when they are envious, but this is a very common saying.

To feel blue

Meaning: Sad
Example: After Julian’s boyfriend left her, she felt blue and cried all the time.

You can also “be blue.”

Yellow-bellied

Meaning: Coward, not brave
Example: He was a yellow-bellied cowboy. He always ran away from a fight.

Belly means stomach. If your belly is yellow, you are not brave. This idiom isn’t used as much nowadays as it was in the past.

Tickled pink

Meaning: Very happy
Example: David asked Mary to marry him. He was tickled pink when she said yes.

When someone is tickled, he feels very excited and happy. Perhaps your skin becomes pink when you feel happy.

Golden opportunity

Meaning: The perfect chance
Example: Instead, it is underedited and overpriced: the publishers missed a golden opportunity.

Black sheep

Meaning: A person who is a disgrace to a family or group
Example: John is the black sheep in our family. He almost ended up in jail a few times when we were younger.

Beet red