Color idioms

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

Example: When John brought home his expensive car, his neighbor Tom was green with envy.

To feel blue: Sad

• You can also “be blue.”

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

Yellow-bellied: Coward, not brave

• 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.

Example: He was a yellow-bellied cowboy. He always ran away from a fight.

Tickled pink: Very happy

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

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

Golden opportunity: The perfect chance

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

Black sheep: 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.