Analysis of English Color Words.docx

Analysis of English Color Words.docx

《Analysis of English Color Words.docx》由会员分享，可在线阅读，更多相关《Analysis of English Color Words.docx（10页珍藏版）》请在冰豆网上搜索。

AnalysisofEnglishColorWords

AnalysisofEnglishColorWords

Ihavelearnedlexisbymyselfforacoupleofmonths,andIfoundtherearesomanyinterestingEnglishcolorwords.Becausedifferentculturecanhavedifferentdescriptionaboutthesamething.Thecolorwordswhichwearefamiliarwithactuallychangealotunderthewesterncultural.Thereforeincertainsituations,weshouldnotinterpretthemliterally!

SoImadeabolddecisiontoanalyzethem.It'sindeedachallengingandinterestingtopic.

Firstly,Iwanttoanalyze “red”.

Redmeans “ofthecolorrangingfromthatofbloodtodeeppinkorange”.Italwaysrepresentsenthusiasmandjubilation.

Forexample, “redletterday” refersto"thecommemorationday"or"thejubilationday".

However,redcanalsohaveothertotallydifferentmeanings.Sometimesitmeansbleeding,dangerandviolenceinwesterncountries.

ThereisanInternationalorganizationwhichiscalledInternationalRedCrossorIRC.Hereitmeanssavingandassistingthewounded.

AndIstillrememberclearlythephraseof “red-lightdistrict”.OneofmypreviousEnglishteacherstoldmevividlythatitmeanssomepornographicplaceincertaincapitalistcountries.Thisisbecausetheredcandleisadangeroussignalwhichmeansstop.

Inaddition,thephraseof “redtape” originatesthreecenturiesago,theofficialsuseredtapetobundlethedocument.Itslexicalmeaninggraduallyevolvedinto “theover-detailedformalities,theofficialformalitiesarticle,numeroustakestimeprocedure,bureaucrat'sformalism” andsoon.

Herearetenidiomswiththecolorwordred:

bein（the）red[美]亏空, 亏损, 有赤字

be[get]outofthered不再亏空; 赢利

comeoutofthered[美]获利, 开始赚钱

dadored[美俚]劣等红酒

gored[美俚] “赤化”, 成为激进派

gointo（the）red[美]发生亏损, 发现赤字

paintitred[美俚]把某事描绘成骇人听闻的样子; 把...弄得引人注目

paintthetownred痛饮; 胡闹

seered[口]生气, 狂怒

theRed,White,andBlue英国国旗

Secondly,Iwanttoanalyze “blue”.

Bluemeans “havingthecolorofaclearsky”.Itusuallyrepresentsmelancholyandsadness.

Forexample:

 “Theyfeltratherblueafterthefailureinthefootballmatch”.Bluemeansdismayhere.

SometimesblueinEnglishisequaltoyellowinChinesebecausetheybothcanmeanindecentanddirty.Say,　　　　“bluetalk”下流的言论; “bluevideo”黄色录象.

BluebookreferstotheBritishparliament’spublicationbecausethebookcoverisblue.Blueprintoriginallyreferstotheduplicationbuildingpattern'spicture,butpresentlyitmayrefertoanydetailedplan.

Bluemayalsorepresentthehighsocialstatusandaristocrats.Thephraseof “bluestocking” comesfromonekindofphenomenain18thcentury.AtthattimetheEnglishliteratureleague'sfemalemembersoftenputonthebluesock,thereforebluestockingreferstothelearnedandthetalentedwomen. “Blueribbon” isthesymbolofhonor.ItoriginatesfromthebluesashofEnglishhighesthonorCarter,thusitrepresents “honorandstrength”.

Therearesomanyidiomswiththecolorwordblue:

babyblue淡蓝色

beintheblues情绪低落; 无精打采; 郁郁不乐

fallintheblues情绪低落; 无精打采; 郁郁不乐

Byallthat'sblue!

[口]凭上天发誓!

 肯定没错!

crytheblues没精打采

drinktillall'sblue大醉, 烂醉

feelblue感到无精打采

givesb.theblues使某人情绪低落

have theblues郁郁不乐

gettheblues郁郁不乐

intheblue在碧蓝的天空[海洋]里

intotheblue至远处; 不见, 消失得无影无踪

lookblue神色沮丧; 脸色发青

meninblue警察; 水手; 消防队员;[美]【史】美国北方军[联邦军]战士

outoftheblue完全出于意外

Oxfordblue深蓝色牛津大学代表队的深蓝色服装

darkblue深蓝色牛津大学代表队的深蓝色服装

singtheblues[美]唱布鲁士歌[美俚]垂头丧气, 闷闷不乐

theBlueandtheGray美国南北战争时的北军与南军

tillall'sblue直到头昏眼花（指喝酒过度）到极点

trueblue忠实可靠的人; 忠心耿耿（政党）忠实成员

Truebluewillneverstain.[谚]正直的人决不会做坏事; 纯洁的品德不会被玷污（屠夫为防衣服被血染而常戴蓝色围裙, 因此产生此语）。

winone'sblue.（牛津、剑桥等校学生）被选拔为校队选手。

getone'sblue.（牛津、剑桥等校学生）被选拔为校队选手。

Thirdly,let’stalkabout “green”.

Greenmeans “ofthecolorbetweenblueandyellowinthespectrum;coloredlikegrass”.Itcanrepresentyouth.

InEnglish,thephraseof “begreenwithenvy” meansjealousnesswhileinChinesemaybeweprobablyuse “beredwithenvy” toexpressjealousness.Thisprobablyisbecausethedifferenceofeyeballcolor.

BecausetheUSdollaristhegreen,greenalsorefersto “thewealth,thebill,andtheeconomicpotentiality”.Forexample:

InAmericanpoliticalelectionsthecandidatesthatwinareusuallytheoneswhohave “green” powerbackingthem.Here “greenpower” meanssyndicate.

GreenisalsousedinEnglishtoexpresslackingofexperience,trainingandknowledge.Forexample:

Thenewtypistisgreenatherjob.Itmeansthetypistisajackeroo

Someidiomswiththecolorwordgreen:

Doyouseeanygreeninmyeye?

 你以为我可欺吗?

inthegreen血气旺盛[方刚]

longgreen[美俚]美国钞票伪造的钞票

notasgreenasone'scabbage-looking并不象人们所想象的那么天真, 并不象他的外貌那样傻

greenintheearth刚埋葬不久

greenwithenvy十分妒忌

Fourthly,let’sdiscuss “yellow”.

Yellowmeans “ofthecolorofbuttercups,lemons,egg-yolks,etc”.Itrepresentscowardiceandcontemptibility.

Forexample:

Heistooyellowtostandupandfight.Here,yellowreferstocowardice.

Chineseregard “yellowbooks” asindecentanddirtybookswhileEnglishregarditastelephonebookswhichhaveyellowpaper.

Andbecauseyellowpaperistheworstkindofpaper,inthe19thcentury,thepopularFranceinexpensivenovelsthenusedtheyellowpages.Thiskindofbookswascalled “yellowback”.

Herearefouridiomswiththecolorwordyellow:

asyellowasacrow'sfoot色黄如金

turnyellow胆怯[害怕]起来

yellowdog野狗;[美]卑劣的人

ayellowlivered 胆小鬼

Fifthly, “grey”.

Graymeans “ofacolorintermediatebetweenblackandwhite”.Itrepresentsneutralitysometimesbecauseit’sbetweenblackandwhite.

Forexample, “whenevertheymademischief，betriedtostandinthegray”.Here,grayclearlymeansneutrality.

Andgrayhairsorgrayheadsrefersinparticulartotheseniorcitizen.It’snosecretthatthehairoftheseniorcitizenisgrey.

Thephraseof “thegrayofthedawn” or “thegrayofthemorning”meansdawn.Becauseatthattime,theskyisgrey.

Herearethreecompoundswiththecolorwordgrey:

greyback灰背类动物[美]【史】[口]南北战争时南军的士兵

greybeard老人石制大酒壶[英]一种地衣

greycoat[英]穿灰色衣服的人,昆布兰郡的义勇骑兵

Sixthly, “brown”.

Brownmeans “havingthecolorofdarkwoodorrichsoil”.

InEnglish,thereisasayingof “theBrownAugust”,thisisbecauseinAugustthecolorofallleavesturnsintobrown,andcertainlythisisaphenomenonwhichoccursinEngland.

Sevenidiomswiththecolorwordbrown:

dobrown[俗]欺骗; 使...上当; 干得好, 干得彻底

doupbrown做得彻底, 干得漂亮; 严厉对待

fireintothebrown射击群鸟[喻]向机群[舰群, 人群]开炮[发射火箭]

blazeintothebrown射击群鸟[喻]向机群[舰群, 人群]开炮[发射火箭]

brownoff[俗]乏味; 讨人厌; 搞错; 弄糟

brownout使灯火转暗（以部分管制减少空袭的危险）或节约能源

brownto[俚] 明白; 领会

Seventhly, “pink”.

Pinkmeans “paleredcolor”.Itrepresentshealthandperfect.

Oneidiomwiththecolorwordpink:

inthepink身体很好，健康

Eighthly, “golden”.

Goldenmeans “coloredorshinninglikegold”.Itrepresentswelfareandcredit.

Onecompoundwiththecolorwordgolden:

golden-mouthed雄辩的

Ninthly, “purple”.

Purplemeans “colorbetweenredandblue”.Itrepresentsluck,richesandhonors.

Herearefouridiomswiththecolorwordpurple:

bebornin[to]thepurple生于皇室[贵族]

becomepurplewithrage面孔气得发紫

marryintothe purple嫁到显贵人家

raisetothepurple使（某人）当皇帝,使（某人）升为红衣主教

Finally,let’scanvass “black” and “white”.

Blackmeans “completelydark;reflectingnolight,colorlessfromlackoflight（likecoalorsoot）whilewhitemeans “ofthecolorofmilkorsnow;resemblingasurfacereflectingsunlightwithoutabsorbinganyofthevisiblerays”.BlackinEnglishrelateswiththematterofbadandevilwhilewhiterepresentschastenessandkindness

Asweallknow, “BlackFriday” isatabooofsomeforeignerswhohavethesuperstitiousideas.BlackFridaygenerallyreferstothedayofFridayanddayl3.Itoriginatesfromreligion.

And “blackart” istheinconceivablemonstertechnique.InmiddleancienttimesandinEurope,ifonewassuspectedtohaveblackart,onewillbecondemnedthedeathpenalty.

TheEnglishphraseof “blacksheep” isequaltothatof “badhorse”inChinesewhichmeansanebbish.ItssourceisthesuperstitiousfableintheEnglishancienttimes.InthepasttheEnglishthoughtthattheblacklambwastheincarnationofdevil.Theblackwoolalsovaluelittlemoney.SoEnglishregardblacksheepastheuselessthing.

WhitehaschasteandthepuremeaningbothinChineseandinEnglish.Butitalsohasinsomedifferentmeanings.Forexample,inchina,thewhitesometimesreferstothedeathandthefuneral.ButinEnglishculture,whiteexpresseshappinessandchaste.Thebrideputsonthewhiteformalclothesattheweddingceremony,whichrepresentstherealloveandchastemarriage.

Anditisnosecretthat “whitelie” meansaliewhichhasnoevilintention.MaybeinChinese,wealwaysusebeautifullieorkindlie.

“Whiteelephant” referstotheexpensiveanduselessthing,becausewhiteelephantisagodinwesternculture.Anyonewhoreceivessuchagiftisdoomedtobekilledmiserably.

Therearesomanyidiomswiththecolorwordsblackandwhite:

asblackasacrow极黑, 漆黑

asblackasaraven极黑, 漆黑

asblackasacrowsloe极黑, 漆黑

asblackascoal墨黑, 极黑

asblackasebony墨黑, 极黑

asblackasink墨黑, 极黑

asblackasjet墨黑, 极黑

asblackassoot墨黑, 极黑

beatsb.blackandblue把某人打得青一块紫一块

callblackwhite颠倒黑白; 混淆是非

makeblackwhite颠倒黑白; 混淆是非

callwhiteblack颠倒黑白; 混淆是非

makewhiteblack颠倒黑白; 混淆是非

turnwhiteintoblack颠倒黑白; 混淆是非

turnblackintowhite颠倒黑白; 混淆是非

inblackandwhite白纸黑字; 书面的; 印刷的

intheblack出现黑字, 有赢余（与“inthered ”相对）

knowblackfromwhite有判断力; 精明机敏

lookblack怒目而视,（前景）暗淡

notsoblackasoneispainted不象人们所说的那么坏

paintsb.black往某人脸上抹黑

provethatblackiswhiteandwhiteblack颠倒黑白, 诡辩

putdowninblackandwhite白纸写黑字; 立据为凭

swearblackiswhite硬把黑的说成白的, 强词夺理, 固执谬见

Twoblacksdonotmakeawhite.[谚]两黑不等于一白; 两个错误不等于一个正确。

blackandtan黑色而有棕色斑点的猎狗;[美]共和党在美国南部的一