23 Color Idioms In English – Expressions With Blue, Red, Pink, and White

Many English idioms include colors like blue, red, pink, or green. Some even include black or white, which we think of as colors even though they are not technically true colors. Here, you will learn the meanings of 23 color idioms in English and get examples of how they are used in a sentence.

Blue Color Idioms

Baby Blues

1. Baby blues is a slight sadness or depression that occurs in pregnant women or in new mothers after they have given birth, usually temporary and brought on by fluctuating hormone levels in the body.

2. Baby blue is a pale blue color and in the eyes it is a color associated with newborn babies, so any human eyes with a pale blue color might be called baby blues; any blue eyes; also possible, any human eyes, regardless of color.

Examples:

“Sarah has been acting sad and moody since the baby was born the other day but my mother told me it’s just the baby blues and she’ll be fine.”

“She had the most beautiful red hair and a pair of baby blues that would turn grown men to jelly.”

Black and Blue

To be black and blue means to be badly bruised and discolored. This idiom is used as an adjective. It is often an exaggeration, e.g. “I tripped on the stairs and now I’m black and blue all over.”

Examples:

“After I fell off my bike I was black and blue for a week.”

“How did you get that black and blue spot on your shoulder?”

Blue Blood

The term blue blood refers to someone of aristocratic or noble birth. It is generally used to mean someone who is a member of “high society.”

Example:

“Most American politicians are typical blue bloods, even the ones who claim humble origins.”

Once in a Blue Moon

Once in a blue moon means not very often; very rarely; only once in a long period of time; practically never.

Example:

“I only get to see my family once in a blue moon now that I live in France.”

Out of the Blue

Out of the blue means without warning; completely unexpectedly; from an unknown or unforeseen source or for an unknown reason; at a completely unexpected time. The variation ‘out of a clear blue sky’ is sometimes rendered without the ‘blue’ or without the ‘clear.’

Examples:

The divorce came out of the blue. He thought everything was fine with the marriage.”

“I can’t believe it. I just got a thousand-dollar check out of the clear blue sky.”

Talk a Blue Streak

Similar to talk nineteen to the dozen or talk a mile a minute. When someone ‘talks a blue streak’ they are speaking very quickly and at length. This idiom, like other related talk idioms, also has the connotation of exhausting the listener.