colour PHRASES
colour PHRASES
Our language uses colour references to aid expression. While many phrases are used internationally, others are regional or related to specific cultures. Some phrases have become so embedded in our daily vocabulary that we use them without really considering just what they mean. This book contains six of these phrases. Each with its meaning and a typographic visualisation.
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GREEN FINGERS
Natural ability in growing plants. The colour green is commonly associated with plants and nature and is often used to describe a way of living which is less harmful to the environment. Someone who is said to have green fingers is able to grow plants in even the worst conditions.
‘She managed to grow a palm tree at the North Pole, she must have green fingers.’
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Tickle: 4
:D
TICKLED PINK
To be delighted. The tickling here isn’t the light stroking of the skin - it’s the figurative sense of the word that means ‘to give pleasure or gratify’. The tickling pink concept is of enjoyment great enough to make the recipient glow with pleasure.
‘He was tickled pink over his award nomination.’
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GREY AREA
An ill-defined situation or area of activity not readily conforming to a category or set of rules. It has no clearly defined characteristics or rules and is therefore difficult to deal with.
‘The difference between gross negligence and recklessness is a legal grey area.’
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RED HERRING
Once a herring that had been dried, smoked and salted and had a very powerful aroma strong enough that by drawing a red herring across the trail of a fox, hounds could be thrown off the scent and led in the wrong direction. Red herring survives not as a fish but as an idiomatic expression these days for something that is introduced in order to deliberately mislead.
‘That’s just another red herring to try to get the voters to forget about the real issue of unemployment.’
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KNUCKLE RIDE A fairground ride which causes extreme excitement or fear; enough to make you clench your fists so tightly onto the bars that your knuckles turn white. The phrase can also be applied to any situation which could be found stressful. A series of events which may cause you to feel as if you have been on a roller coaster ride.
‘The big dipper was a white knuckle ride.’
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PURPLE PATCH
A run of success or good luck. A purple patch once meant a piece of overly elaborate writing. The colour purple being that of royal use, it is easy to see how it described something flamboyant. However over time a purple patch has come to mean a streak of luck or success; a period of time in which you prosper and life is in your favour. Perhaps you have even gained many riches during this time.
‘She won the lotto and postocode lottery in the same week. It was a purple patch for her.’
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