COLOR YOUR ENGLISH (part 2)

Hi everyone...no time for chit chat...let's just get straight to the lesson! (mish fadyalkom!!)
This is part 2 of learning to use idioms with colors. Yoooo! Of course you'll ask AGAIN...ya3nee eh idioms? Idioms are like expressions. Then of course you'll ask, so what's the difference between idioms and expressions? (mana 3arfa...mish ha nikhlas!) Well, expressions usually only have one meaning and used within a context of conversation, but an idiom might be used in different ways. But in many cases the word idiom and expression are interchangeble.

Most of the English language is idioms! And this is when it gets more difficult to learn because there are no rules for idioms; you just have to learn them and memorize them. So, let's begin:

1. She was caught red-handed trying to steal a bottle of perfume.

2. Tonight we're going to paint the town red!

3. My grand-father loved his garden. He really had a green-thumb.

4. He decided to quit his job as a banker, out of the blue, and work as a DJ.

5. What's wrong with you? You look as white as a ghost!

6. You can't blackmail me! You have no proof of anything!

7. Middle class Americans are mostly blue-collar workers.

8. Upper class people are mainly white-collar workers.

9. You can apologize to me until you're blue in the face! I still won't forgive you!

10. The lawyer told me that this contract had too many gray areas.

ANSWERS:

1. red-haneded = caught in the action of doing something wrong. (AFASHTAK!!)
2. paint the town red = going out to celebrate an event or just going out to have a real nice time.
3. green thumb = someone who is very clever or talented in gardening. (mish shart ganaynee ya3nee, but someone who grows plants as a hobby).
4. out of the blue = suddenly with no warning.
5. as white as a ghost = someone who looks very pale from feeling scared.
6. blackmail = when you use information about someone against him.
7. blue-collar = workers as laborers. (3omal ya3nee)
8. white-collar = employees (but mainly el managerial posts. Collar ya3nee el kola beta3 el amees. Taba3an el MAFROUD el kola beta3it el mewazaf, nedeefa, wa beda, which reflects he is from the white-collar employees...mish 3amel. Wa taba3an notice in el 3amel fee America mish el 3amel zay hena fee masr.

Fee haga tanya ismaha blue-collar crime and white-collar crime. Murder, masalan, is a blue-collar crime. Embezzelment (ightilas, i think it is in Arabic..taking money from the bank and not returning it) this is a white-collar crime...ya3nee mehtaga nas ashyak shwyia!!

9. blue in the face = exhausted, tired from talking.
10. gray area = this is the area that can have different points of view and is not very clear.

Now, go learn these and maybe one day I'll test you and if you study hard, you'll pass with flying colors!

pass with flying colors = to pass a test of any sort with very high grades.

COLOR YOUR ENGLISH (part 1)

Hi one and all....(howa akeed just one...my poor blog!!)

There are lots of expressions used in English with different colors. Time to check out a few and learn what they mean:

1. He never did well in school or in his career. He's the black sheep of the family.

2. Last night there was a black out that lasted a couple of hours.

3. She blacked out before they even gave her the injection.

4. I only work on my blog once in a blue moon.

5. Some days I really feel blue.

6. When Hala got married, Sahar was green with envy.

7. The boss gave him the green light to cash the check.

8. The grass is always greener on the other side.

9. She was tickled pink when she first met him.

10. People don't like doing business in Egypt because of all the red tape.

ANSWERS

1. The black sheep is the odd person; usually the one not successful or an embarrasement to a family or a group. (ya3nee fadihit el 3alah!)

2. A black out is an electricity cut. Of course in Egypt, this is part of our daily life!

3. To black out (used as a verb) means to lose concsiousness... (ighma2) or to faint.
NOTE: A black out (this is used as a noun) is different than TO black out (used as a verb).

4. Something that happens very rarely.

5. Feeling blue = feeling very sad.

6. Green with envy. Hmmm, not easy to find a translation, but envy is a type of jealousy (gheera). But it's not always a bad jealousy; envy is just wishing you had the same thing too. So, if you're green with envy, it means you're jealous.

7. To give the green light, means to give your approval or your okay for someone to do something. Like the green light fee isharat el merour means for cars to go. (Bas taba3an fee Masr, the red light also means for cars to go wa kaman el yellow light!)

8. This is a whole expression, used as it is written. It means that you always think what another person has is better than what you have. It could be in anything..EXAMPLE: her house is nicer than mine, her lifestyle is better than mine, etc...

9. Tickled pink = very pleased, very happy (tickle means zaghzagh...yakatee!!)

10. Red tape...yakhrib beit el routine wa ili gab el routine!! It is the bureaucracy and paying too much attention to rules and regulations that often don't mean anything. It usually is involved with governmental rules.

Stay tuned with more colors to come!

And use this link also: