Idioms expressions with colors: Expressões idiomáticas em cores
Black ♦ Black day: Dia negro ♦ Yesterday was such a black day: Ontem foi um dia tão negro. ♦ Black and white: Simples, direto, claro
Blue ♦ Out of the blue: De repente ♦ And out of the blue, my mother got into my bedroom: E de repente, minha mãe entrou no meu quarto. ♦ Blue in the face: Nervoso, ofegante ♦ She arrived home from her job interview blue in the face. ♦ To feel/be blue: Estar triste, deprimido ♦ He was feeling so blue when his mother died ♦ True blue: Pessoa muito confiável ♦ My best friend is a true blue. He helps me whenever I need ♦ Once in a blue moon: Muito raramente ♦ Corinthians beats São Paulo once in a blue moon ♦ Bolt from the blue: Inesperadamente, de surpresa ♦ The news that she died yesterday came like a bolt from the blue ♦ Blue funk: De mau humor, deprimido(a) ♦ I was in a blue funk yesterday, but now I feel great
Golden ♦ Golden opportunity: Oportunidade de ouro ♦ It´s a golden opportunity to be selected to study abroad
Pink ♦ In the pink: Saudável e feliz ♦ She was in the pink that day. She had gotten a promotion ♦ Trickled pink: Ser agradado ♦ You´ll be trickled pink by your parents on your birthday
Red ♦ Roll out the red carpet: Estender o tapete vermelho ♦ She´s such a goo teacher that all schools roll out the red carpet for her ♦ Red-letter day: Dia especial ♦ Today is a red-letter day. I have just received a birthday card ♦ To be seeing red: Estar bravo com algo ♦ My car broke down. I am seeing red !!! ♦ To be in the red: Estar no vermelho ♦ I went to the bank and my account shows that I am in the red ♦ To be caught red-handed: Ser pego no ato de roubar ♦ I was stealing my brother’s money and he caught me red-handed ♦ Red-hot: Interessante, divertido, legal ♦ A new club just opened downtown and I think it’s red-hot ♦ Red tape: Burocracia, papelada ♦ Studying abroad is interesting but there’s a lot of red tape involved in the application process ♦ Paint the town red: Sair para se diverter à noite; ir pra gandaia, farrear ♦ I wanna go out tonight. Do you want to come and paint the town red with me ?
Yellow ♦ A yellow-bellied person: Pessoa não confiável ♦ That friend of yours is a yellow-bellied man. Don’t trust him ♦ Yellow press: Imprensa sensacionalista ♦ I know I am famous but I wish the yellow press would stop publishing gossip about me
Rose ♦ Look/See through rose-colored glasses: Ser otimista ♦ You´re so pessimistic. You need to see the situation through rose-colored glasses
White ♦ White lie: Mentira sem importância, mentira pequena, mentirinha ♦ I used to tell many white lies to my mother.
Green ♦ To have a green thumb: Ter talento para jardinagem ♦ My father has always had a green thumb. He’s an excellent gardener ♦ To live in a green belt: Viver em um local com muito verde (árvores, grama, etc) ♦ I’d love to live in the green belt. Living downtown is stressful ♦ To be green with envy: Estar com muita inveja ♦ When I heard the she got accepted in Harvard I got green with envy ♦ To look green: Parecer doente ♦ Are you ok ? You look a little green today ♦ To get the green light on: Conseguir aprovação, conseguir o “sinal verde” ♦ I got the green light on my loan request. Now I can set up my restaurant ♦ Green eyed monster: Ciúme ♦ I’m too jeaulosy. I need to fight against the green eyed monster
Gray ♦ Gray matter: Massa cinzenta, miolos ♦ To discover the answer of the question, use your gray matter and think
Color ♦ To be off-color: Estar de mal humor ♦ Helen is off-color today. What happened ? ♦ Off-color joke: Piada de mal gosto, piada suja ♦ I don’t like when Pedro starts telling off-color jokes. I’d rather not listen
Exercises
1 - Read the text below and answer the questions:
Aline Alux was a brilliant chief. Her creations were famous all over the city. Everywhere she went, people rolled out to the red carpet for her. She was used trickled pink by this special treatment, but today she was feeling a little off-color. She had a problem.
The problem is that she could only cook when she was happy. If she was sad, her cakes came out flat and dry. And today is a red letter day. It was great-great grandfather’s 130th birthday ! And Aline Alux was the chief. But, out of the blue this morning, she woke up and realized that it was a black day for her. There was no particular reason. She had simply gotten up on the wrong side of the bed. She didn’t want to cook for great-great grandfather’s 130th birthday. She couldn’t.
The party was at 3 p.m. and it was already almost noon. Daniela, Aline’s sister in law and the party organizer rushed into the room in a panic. This party was a golden opportunity for her to advance her career and she wasn’t going to let Aline ruin because she was down in the dumps. She told her, blue in the face, that she didn’t need to be in a good mood to cook. It was all in her mind: Listen to me:
— Things aren’t this black and white as you think. There’re more than 2 ways to look at this. Sometimes, there’re shades of gray. Can you try to see the world through rose-colored glasses just for this one day? Take a more positive attitude. You really need to help us make the party a success !
Out of the blue, from downstairs, a door opened and closed and I heard great-great grandfather’s wheelchair spinning across the floor. Them, I heard the sound of the elevator. I heard him get in and as the door closed behind him, I said: “Mum’s the word! Don’t let great-great grandfather know that anything is wrong yet. A few minutes later, great-great grandfather’s wheelchair rolled into the room and stopped suddenly. We turned and looked. He said:
— Today is my 130th birthday and I’m not going to beat around the bush: I would like pizza at my party. I’m sorry to hurt your feelings. I said I wanted Aline to cook but that was a white lie. I wanna order pizza. That’s all I have to say…
And he left the room.
As a result, the family made a pizza-party for him. This party went of with flying-colors. Everyone had a fantastic time. They ate pizza and danced.
— I’m feeling in the pink now said Aline !
Mum’s the word: Keep something quiet, keep it a secret
Beat around the bush: Avoid the issue
Questions:
1 - Who was the main character of the text?
2 - What's her profession?
3 - She had a problem. What was the problem?
4 - Who was Daniela?
5 - What were the color idioms used in the text?
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