There are several ways that we can use colours in the English language to express emotions or ideas. For example, the colour red is often associated with anger or passion. Someone who is ‘feeling blue’ is sad.
Generally, when you hear the word ‘green’ in English, you imagine something environmentally friendly or good for the planet. Did you know that green can also be used to describe an envious person? With Earth Day coming up later this month, today’s blog post explores several English phrases which use the word green. We will look at examples of how you can use them in your English conversations.
Greenwashing
This word has entered the vernacular fairly recently and describes efforts by big corporations to appear more sustainable or environmentally friendly, where their intentions at the end of the day are only to make more money.
H&M’s Conscious Collection claims to promote eco-friendly fashion and use of recycled or sustainable materials, but it is just another example of greenwashing.
Have green fingers
A person who has green fingers is good at gardening or good with plants.
My aunt has green fingers. Her garden is so beautiful, especially in the Spring when all the flowers are blooming.
Green with envy
Someone who is extremely envious is green with envy.
I was green with envy looking at all the amazing photos from your backpacking trip around South America.
The green-eyed monster
Related to the previous ‘green’ phrase, the green-eyed monster is an expression used to describe feelings of jealousy or envy.
Despite her many achievements, Carrie often struggled with the green-eyed monster whenever she saw her older sister succeed at something.
Get the green light
To get the green light on a project means to get permission to go ahead with it. This is a common business idiom.
I am still waiting for the green light from my manager before we can start looking for a new team member.
Evergreen
The adjective evergreen is used in the context of social media content to describe something which is relevant and reusable at any time of year. For example, a blog post about English verb tenses is evergreen content, as it useful and relevant no matter the season. A blog post on vocabulary related to the pandemic is not evergreen.
The goal for this month is to create as much evergreen content as possible.
Green flag
Another common expression that you may see used on social media in the context of dating. If someone’s behaviour is a green flag, it is a positive sign, as opposed to a red flag, which is a sign that someone is not a good person.
He is a great listener, and very empathetic, which is a huge green flag.
The grass is always greener on the other side
This English proverb describes the human quality of always comparing ourselves to others or wanting more than we have. It means that when we look from the outside at other people or places and compare ourselves, it always looks better. An alternative to this phrase is ‘the grass is greener where you water it’, meaning that the places and situations where you invest time and effort are where the ‘grass’ will eventually be greener, and your efforts will be rewarded.
Jackie wanted a job at that company for such a long time, but now she’s finally working there she has no free time and she is miserable! The grass is always greener on the other side.
I am not as green as I am cabbage-looking
I couldn’t find anything definitive online about the origins of this funny sounding phrase, but the meaning is basically, “I’m not as stupid or naive as I look.” It’s assumed to have begun in Yorkshire. A cabbage is a green vegetable, about the same size as a human head, so the ‘cabbage-looking’ part refers to this.
If I ever tried to get away with telling a lie to my granny, such as pretending I had finished my homework, she used to say to me, “I am not as green as I am cabbage-looking!”
I hope you enjoyed these green phrases! Can you think of any phrases related to other colours in English? Let us know in the comments!