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Color idioms: Phrazle Colors
Every phrase in this category uses a color to say something about a person or a situation. Six guesses, endless puzzles.
Idioms about colors
This category gathers phrases that use a color to say something about a person or a situation: red, blue, green, black, white, gray, pink, purple, gold and silver. Some colors have settled meanings in English. Red often stands for anger or danger, green for envy or inexperience, blue for sadness or noble birth, black for trouble or exclusion, white for innocence or covering up, and gold and silver for wealth and good fortune.
Colors make strong idioms because they are the first thing we notice, and because each one comes with ready-made feelings. Some of these meanings come from nature, such as the green of young plants; others come from history, such as the purple dye that only emperors could afford, or from the way people look when they are angry, ill or embarrassed.
All puzzles on this page are color phrases. The color names are short, so RED, BLUE, PINK, GOLD and GREEN are good first tries for a word of the right length.
Color idioms and what they mean
None of these examples is used as a puzzle, so reading them will not spoil a game.
- Born to the purple: born into a royal or very powerful family. Purple dye was so costly in the ancient world that it became the color of emperors, and children of Byzantine rulers were said to be born "in the purple".
- Blackmail: getting money or favors from someone by threatening them. "Mail" was an old Scottish word for rent or payment, and black stood for its evil nature.
- Blacklist: a list of people or things to be avoided or refused. English writers used the word as early as the 1600s.
- Blackball: to keep someone out of a club or group. Members once voted in secret by dropping a white ball for yes or a black ball for no into a box.
- Whitewash: to hide mistakes or wrongdoing. Whitewash was a cheap white paint of lime and water used to cover dirty walls.
- Greenhorn: a beginner with little experience. It once described a young ox whose horns had only just grown.
- Blue-blooded: from a noble or aristocratic family. It comes from the Spanish "sangre azul": pale-skinned nobles who never worked outdoors had veins that showed blue.
- Yellow-bellied: cowardly. Yellow has stood for cowardice in English since the 1800s, and nobody is quite sure why.
Color idioms FAQ
Do colors mean the same thing in every language?
No. The meanings come from custom, not from nature, so they differ from one language to the next: a color that stands for luck in one country can stand for mourning in another. That is one reason why every language on Phrazle has its own native phrases instead of translated English ones.
Do the tile colors give away the color in the phrase?
No. The green, gold, purple and gray tiles only show where your letters belong. They are the same in every category and have nothing to do with the colors named in the phrase.
Does the Colors category have its own statistics?
Yes. Every category keeps its own games played, win percentage, streak and guess distribution. Playing here never changes your Daily statistics or your Daily streak.