Benjamin’s English · engVid | 12 expressions with COLOURS in English @engvidBenjamin | Uploaded May 2015 | Updated October 2024, 3 hours ago.
engvid.com In this lesson, you will have a GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY to learn twelve expressions that use different colours in English. Some examples include "roll out the red carpet", "black sheep", and "the grass is greener on the other side". These are common idioms you can easily use in your everyday language. After watching, make sure to do the quiz to test your understanding. Hopefully, you will pass with FLYING COLOURS!
engvid.com/12-expressions-with-colours-in-english
TRANSCRIPT
Hello. Welcome back to www.engvid.com. Today, we're going to be dealing with: "Idioms of Colour". Okay? There are really beautiful ways of describing things in the English language, and they will add a degree of richness and variety to your spoken and written English.
I'm going to be telling a story today about my friend, Bob, and what happened to him, and you're going to be learning 12 idioms using colour, or 10-12 colour idioms. First thing I wanted to point out was here in the UK, we spell "colour" with a "u". We like our u's in UK style English, original English. But in the America... Well, in the USA, they tend to forget about our worthy u's. So, you know, make your own mind up.
My friend, Bob, he got beaten up until he was "black and blue". Okay? He got beaten up. Okay? So, "black and blue", it describes the colour of his skin because he has bruises. Okay? He gets beaten up. He was in a fight. He got in a fight until he was... Until he was beaten black and blue. It means he got badly beaten up.
The police said that the matter was "black and white". Okay? So, my friend, he's got beaten up, so I ask the policeman: "What's happened, here? My friend, he got beaten up." And they said to me that the matter, that this whole topic, this subject, this event, it was "black and white". Okay? It was clear. Okay? It was clear what had happened. There was no questions: what had happened? My friend, Bob, had been drunk, so he got attacked, he got beaten up. Okay?
So, what did I do? Well, I asked Bob's mom: "Why? What's happened? What's happened to Bob? He got drunk. He got beaten black and blue. What's going on, Mrs. Bob?" And Mrs. Bob said: "Well, Bob, he's always been a bit of a 'black sheep'." That's a red sheep. What's a black sheep? Ma-a-a. A black sheep is one that goes a different way. So, we got lots of sheep. Okay? Here's a big family of sheep, and here's Bob. Here's Bob being a black sheep. Well, what does a "black sheep" mean? Well, a "black sheep" means he's gone a different way. Okay? Because most of the time, sheep are what colour? Yes, they're white. But Bob, he's a black sheep, he's a bit different. He's taken a wrong turning. You are going the wrong direction. Okay?
So, I'm still talking to Mrs. Bob, and I'm like: "Yes, but he was 'born with a silver spoon'." Okay? If I'm born with a... Woo, it's silver, the spoon. With a silver spoon in his mouth, it means the gods are giving riches. Okay? Caliban in The Tempest, Shakespeare: "Me dreamed that the clouds opened and showed riches ready to drop upon me." Okay? Sorry. A bit over your head. He's born with a silver spoon, Bob. Okay? What...? What the...? What does that mean? It means he was born into a good family. Yeah? He's born into a big house, there's a car, there's food. But Bob's been a black sheep, okay? And he's gone to... He's gone to Hull instead of to New York, maybe. Sorry, people in Hull. It's a glorious city. I love it very much.
Okay, so he was born with a silver spoon. He was given-okay?-gold, silver; valuable. Okay? Lots of money for gold and silver. He was given "a golden opportunity", a great, a fantastic, a magnificent, a brilliant opportunity. Yeah? To... To go to a good school. Okay?
And so Bob went to the good school, but he thought... Okay? Past tense of the verb: "to think", he thought that "the grass was always greener on the other side". Okay? So here's Bob, he's at his school. He's got his silver spoon, and he thinks that it's always better to be... Well, a... Someone swimming in the sea, under water. He thought it was always greener to be a deep sea diver. Okay? A deep sea diver. So "deep" means far under the water, right down. So Bob thought it was greener to be under water, to be doing something completely different. Okay? So here's Bob, to think it's greener on the other side, he always thinks it's better over there. So if I'm in a blue car, I think it's better to be in a red car; if I'm in a red car, I think it's better to be in a blue car. Bob thought it was better to be a deep sea diver. Uh-oh.
So, he soon was "in the dark" about things. Okay? So he's swimming, he's in the water. He's in the dark, it means: don't know what's going on. Yeah? I don't know. So, you could... You could say... If someone asked you a question, you could say: "Sorry, mate. I'm a bit in the dark about that." It means: "I don't know. No one has told me." Yeah?
engvid.com In this lesson, you will have a GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY to learn twelve expressions that use different colours in English. Some examples include "roll out the red carpet", "black sheep", and "the grass is greener on the other side". These are common idioms you can easily use in your everyday language. After watching, make sure to do the quiz to test your understanding. Hopefully, you will pass with FLYING COLOURS!
engvid.com/12-expressions-with-colours-in-english
TRANSCRIPT
Hello. Welcome back to www.engvid.com. Today, we're going to be dealing with: "Idioms of Colour". Okay? There are really beautiful ways of describing things in the English language, and they will add a degree of richness and variety to your spoken and written English.
I'm going to be telling a story today about my friend, Bob, and what happened to him, and you're going to be learning 12 idioms using colour, or 10-12 colour idioms. First thing I wanted to point out was here in the UK, we spell "colour" with a "u". We like our u's in UK style English, original English. But in the America... Well, in the USA, they tend to forget about our worthy u's. So, you know, make your own mind up.
My friend, Bob, he got beaten up until he was "black and blue". Okay? He got beaten up. Okay? So, "black and blue", it describes the colour of his skin because he has bruises. Okay? He gets beaten up. He was in a fight. He got in a fight until he was... Until he was beaten black and blue. It means he got badly beaten up.
The police said that the matter was "black and white". Okay? So, my friend, he's got beaten up, so I ask the policeman: "What's happened, here? My friend, he got beaten up." And they said to me that the matter, that this whole topic, this subject, this event, it was "black and white". Okay? It was clear. Okay? It was clear what had happened. There was no questions: what had happened? My friend, Bob, had been drunk, so he got attacked, he got beaten up. Okay?
So, what did I do? Well, I asked Bob's mom: "Why? What's happened? What's happened to Bob? He got drunk. He got beaten black and blue. What's going on, Mrs. Bob?" And Mrs. Bob said: "Well, Bob, he's always been a bit of a 'black sheep'." That's a red sheep. What's a black sheep? Ma-a-a. A black sheep is one that goes a different way. So, we got lots of sheep. Okay? Here's a big family of sheep, and here's Bob. Here's Bob being a black sheep. Well, what does a "black sheep" mean? Well, a "black sheep" means he's gone a different way. Okay? Because most of the time, sheep are what colour? Yes, they're white. But Bob, he's a black sheep, he's a bit different. He's taken a wrong turning. You are going the wrong direction. Okay?
So, I'm still talking to Mrs. Bob, and I'm like: "Yes, but he was 'born with a silver spoon'." Okay? If I'm born with a... Woo, it's silver, the spoon. With a silver spoon in his mouth, it means the gods are giving riches. Okay? Caliban in The Tempest, Shakespeare: "Me dreamed that the clouds opened and showed riches ready to drop upon me." Okay? Sorry. A bit over your head. He's born with a silver spoon, Bob. Okay? What...? What the...? What does that mean? It means he was born into a good family. Yeah? He's born into a big house, there's a car, there's food. But Bob's been a black sheep, okay? And he's gone to... He's gone to Hull instead of to New York, maybe. Sorry, people in Hull. It's a glorious city. I love it very much.
Okay, so he was born with a silver spoon. He was given-okay?-gold, silver; valuable. Okay? Lots of money for gold and silver. He was given "a golden opportunity", a great, a fantastic, a magnificent, a brilliant opportunity. Yeah? To... To go to a good school. Okay?
And so Bob went to the good school, but he thought... Okay? Past tense of the verb: "to think", he thought that "the grass was always greener on the other side". Okay? So here's Bob, he's at his school. He's got his silver spoon, and he thinks that it's always better to be... Well, a... Someone swimming in the sea, under water. He thought it was always greener to be a deep sea diver. Okay? A deep sea diver. So "deep" means far under the water, right down. So Bob thought it was greener to be under water, to be doing something completely different. Okay? So here's Bob, to think it's greener on the other side, he always thinks it's better over there. So if I'm in a blue car, I think it's better to be in a red car; if I'm in a red car, I think it's better to be in a blue car. Bob thought it was better to be a deep sea diver. Uh-oh.
So, he soon was "in the dark" about things. Okay? So he's swimming, he's in the water. He's in the dark, it means: don't know what's going on. Yeah? I don't know. So, you could... You could say... If someone asked you a question, you could say: "Sorry, mate. I'm a bit in the dark about that." It means: "I don't know. No one has told me." Yeah?
