Green With Envy

Meaning of Idiom ‘Green With Envy’

To be green with envy means to wish very much that you had the same possessions or good fortune that someone else has; to be very envious or jealous. ¹,²,³

Want to see more videos from Idioms.Online? Subscribe to my YouTube channel!

Usage

The phrase green with jealousy is sometimes substituted but the correct idiom is green with envy.

Examples Of Use

“I heard you got a scholarship to study in France. I’m green with envy!”

“Everyone was green with envy after Gregory won the lottery and quit his job.”

“Congratulations on your new sports car. I’ll be honest, I’m green with envy. I’ve always wanted a car like that.”

Origin

Green has traditionally been the color that represents jelousy. For example, Shakespeare called envy the green sickness (Anthony and Cleopatra). The current idiom, and the most common, has been used since the mid-1800s. ⁴,⁵

More Idioms Starting with G

• Get Out of My Hair
• Go Over the Same Old Ground
• Get With It
• Get With the Program
• Going to (Will) Murder (Kill) Someone

More Color Idioms

• Local Color
• With Flying Colors
• Show Your True Colors, to
• Horse of a Different Color

More Green Idioms 

• Grass Is Always Greener, the
• Green Thumb Meaning (have a)
• Green Light

More Envy Idioms

• Grass Is Always Greener, the
• Eat Your Heart Out

More Jealousy Idioms

• Eat Your Heart Out

References

1. Heacock, Paul. Cambridge Dictionary of American Idioms]. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2010.
2. Brenner, Gail Abel. Webster’s New World American Idioms Handbook]. Wiley, 2003.
3. Ayto, John. Oxford Dictionary of English Idioms. Oxford: Oxford U, 2010.
4. Ayto, John. Oxford Dictionary of English Idioms. Oxford: Oxford U, 2010.
5. Ammer, Christine. American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013.