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Words and Expressions For Specifi C Colours

This document provides information about colors and color terminology in three sections: 1. Specific color words like jet black, shocking pink, ginger, and turquoise that are used to describe hair, fabrics, and the sea but not usually eyes. Gemstone names like ruby, emerald and amber are also used as color adjectives. 2. Terms for describing colors like primary, pastel, strong, harsh, and vivid colors. Fluorescent colors seem to glow in the dark. Monochrome uses only one color or shades of it. 3. Color metaphors where blue means depression, red means anger, danger or importance, green means nausea or envy, black means depressing or illegality, and grey

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105 views1 page

Words and Expressions For Specifi C Colours

This document provides information about colors and color terminology in three sections: 1. Specific color words like jet black, shocking pink, ginger, and turquoise that are used to describe hair, fabrics, and the sea but not usually eyes. Gemstone names like ruby, emerald and amber are also used as color adjectives. 2. Terms for describing colors like primary, pastel, strong, harsh, and vivid colors. Fluorescent colors seem to glow in the dark. Monochrome uses only one color or shades of it. 3. Color metaphors where blue means depression, red means anger, danger or importance, green means nausea or envy, black means depressing or illegality, and grey

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RafaelHidalgoSanchís
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64 All the colours of the rainbow

A Words and expressions for specific colours


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 cats
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
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 [bright green], amber [yellowy orange], coral [orangey pink], sapphire [deep blue],
jade[dark green].
B 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.
C 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-carpet treatment. The day we met will always be a
red-letter day for me.); communist or very left-wing in politics (Peoples 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 friends 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 dont finish this report in
time, thatll 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)

134 English Vocabulary in Use Advanced

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