65 All the colours of the rainbow

A

B

C Words and expressions for specific colours

ginger

pitch black: intensely black, used about darkness, night, etc. (pitch is an old word for tar) jet black: intensely black, used about hair, eyes, etc. (jet is a black semi-precious gemstone) scarlet: very bright red crimson: strong deep red shocking pink: an extremely bright pink ginger: orangey red, used about hair and animal fur navy: dark blue, used about clothes, not eyes turquoise: greenish blue, used about fabrics, paint, sea, etc. but not usually eyes lime: a bright yellowish green beige: a light creamy brown mousy: a light, not very interesting brown, used only about hair chestnut: a deep reddish brown, used about hair and horses scarlet auburn: a red-brown colour, usually used about hair A number of words for gemstones are also used as colour adjectives, e.g. ruby [deep red], emerald

crimson shocking pink

[bright green], amber[yellowy orange], coral[orangey pink], sapphire[deep blue], jade[dark green].

Words for talking about colour

Red, blue and yellow are primary colours; by mixing them together you can make other colours. Pastel colours are pale shades of colour – pink, mauve[pale purple] and pale yellow, for example. Strong colours are the opposite of pastels. Harsh colours are colours that are unpleasantly strong. Vivid colours are strong, bright colours like scarlet or turquoise. Fluorescent colours are very bright colours which seem to glow in the dark. Electric blues or greens are extremely bright blues or greens. If white has a tinge of green, there is a very slight shade of green in it. If something is monochrome, it uses only one (or shades of one) colour, e.g. black, white and grey. The suffixes -y and -ish show that a colour is partly present, e.g. bluey green, reddish brown.

Colour metaphors

blue = depression (to feel blue); physical or unskilled (blue-collar workers) red = anger (to see red = to be very angry); danger (red alert, a red flag); special importance (All the competitors were given the red-carpettreatment. The day we met will always be a redletter day for me.); communist or very left-wing in politics (People’s views sometimes become less red as they get older.) green = nausea (to look green) (People who are seasick often turn/go green and sometimes vomit.); envy (She turned green with envy when she saw her friend’s new car.); care for the environment (green tourism; the Green Party) black = depressing or without hope (a black future); anger (to look as black as thunder); illegality or incorrectness (black market, black sheep of the family, black mark) (During the war people bought many goods illegally on the black market. If I don’t finish this report in time, that’ll be another black mark against my name. My brother was the black sheep of the family, leaving school and home at the earliest opportunity.) grey = lack of clarity (a grey area); brains (grey matter, grey cells) white = purity (white as snow, whiter than white); being pale (She was so shocked that she went white as a sheet.); a white-knuckle[terrifying] ride at an amusement park such as Disneyland; office workers (white-collar workers)

65.1

Match the colour to the picture it is most likely to be used about.

navy scarlet ginger pitch black turquoise chestnut

1 42 53 6

65.2

Put the words in the box under the best heading.

ruby emerald coral sapphire lime scarlet navy jade crimson turquoise

red blue green

65.3

65.4

65.5

Answer these questions about the words in B. 1 Which of the following is not a pastel colour?

A mauve B pink C scarlet 2 Which of the following colours can’t be described as electric?

A black B green C blue 3 Which of the following colours is a primary colour?

A green B orange C yellow 4 If a speaker comments that a lipstick is rather a harsh red, what does the speaker think of the lipstick?

A She likes it. B She doesn’t like it.

C We don’t know – she’s stating a fact not giving an opinion. 5 Which is the closest synonym of a bright pink material?

A a material with a tinge of pink B a vivid pink material C a pinkish material

Look at C opposite. Match the situations on the left with the responses on the right.

1 That child looks a bit green. a No, they make me feel sick. 2 He seems to have the blues most days. b Yes, it’s not at all clear what we should do. 3 That TV programme always makes him see red. c Yes, but they need qualifications. 4 It’s a bit of a grey area, isn’t it? d I think he’s going to be sick. 5 They seem to be trying to blacken his name. e Yes, they want to do their bit for the environment.

6 Do you like white-knuckle rides? 7 White-collar workers earn more. 8 They’re going to vote for the Green Party. f Yes, he can’t stand the presenter. g Yes, ever since his wife left him. h I wonder what they’ve got against him?

Over to you

Look up the colours below in a dictionary. Write down any new and useful expressions in example sentences of your own, e.g. That sharp corner is a terrible black spot for road accidents.

black white red blue yellow green