Colorful Expressions
QUESTION:
Ho from Vietnam asked about several expressions related to colors, including “lily-white,” “green,” and “red flag.”
ANSWER:
Lily White:
A lily is a type of flower (see picture). The expression lily-white refers something that is pure, innocent, without fault, or without blame. We often use this to talk about whether politicians and other people are honest or not.
- “Politicians have problems appearing lily white when they accept money from wealthy, influential people.”
- “Everyone thought that the university president was lily-white until the scandal broke (became known).”
“Lily-white” has a second meaning that relates to race. It is used to describe something that excludes (does not allow) non-white people.
- “This club has been lily-white for 200 years and they don’t plan to change that even under community pressure.”
- “Few neighborhoods in Los Angeles are still lily-white.”
…
Green:
Being green means being inexperienced, new to doing something or performing a job.
- “The medical student is too green to perform this procedure without help.”
- “The new manager will seem a little green until she learns the job.”
These days, green has a second meaning. We use green to refer to things that are not harmful to the environment.
- “We’re turning this into a green house by buying energy-efficient appliances (refrigerator, stove, etc.) and planting vegetables instead of grass.
- “By buying hybrid cars (cars that use gasoline and electricity), our company is taking the first step toward going green.”
…
Ho also asked about red flag, which is a warning that danger or a problem is coming. We talked about it in the “Culture Note” of the Learning Guide for ESL Podcast 476 – Taking Chances in Business. Please take a look at that.
Thanks, Ho, for the question, and I hope this is helpful.
~ Lucy
May 26th, 2009 at 8:07 am
Thanks Lucy for the input,
Allow me to add two more which I think they are widly used. Please correct me if I am wrong.
White elephant which means something costly but hopless ( not useful)
white knight- business usage, specially now a days- which means somebody who assist a company finantially in order to bail the comany out.
May 26th, 2009 at 9:33 am
Like Peter, (hi Peter), I would like to contribute with another meaning of green colour.
In my country, as you know I’m Spaniard, we use the green colour to refer to whatever thing related with sex, rather with bad sex, with poor or bad taste sex.
For instance, we can say of a book or a movie is erotic, but if we say that it is green, then we mean that it is a book or movie of low quality.
There is another meaning when we say that one person is a “green old” (viejo verde). Then we are refering to a person who is old and he is drooling when he sees a girl.
I don’t know if you are agree or not, but it is my opinion.
Regards.
May 26th, 2009 at 10:24 am
That Colorful Expressions was very black and white (straightforward)
May 26th, 2009 at 4:22 pm
Hi to you My friend elcomandant ,
let me throw in one more and call it the day. True colour means the true identity of a person. Finally , Jack showed me his true colour. Commonly used my friend. The beauty of English language is You can never tell that you rach an impass. Tons of color related Expresiions.
Hasppy that I have good friends like you guys. Amd Thanks The Podcast for making this luxury possible.
May 26th, 2009 at 4:23 pm
Reached an impass
May 26th, 2009 at 9:02 pm
True colors
Sorry for the typo ( misspelling)
May 27th, 2009 at 1:23 pm
You should add the expression Green with envy to refers to someone who envys somebody else sucess.
May 29th, 2009 at 12:36 am
Hi there,
I’d like to add some points to the meaning of green. The word green is closely related to the English verb “to grow”. It is used to describe plants or the ocean. Sometimes it can also describe someone who is inexperienced, jealous, or sick. In America, green is a slang term for money, among other things. Several colloquialisms have derived from these meanings, such as “green around the gills”, a phrase used to describe a person who looks ill. However, green has some other meanings in other cultures.
Parina