Common Coloured Phrases for Kids Quiz

Answer: Red

The expression "A red rag to a bull" or "It's like waving a red rag at a bull" means that something that really irritates a person is enough to make that person very angry when they're forced to deal with it. An example of this could be a mother who really loves her children but who hates it when they leave their toys all over the floor. So perhaps, when she comes home from a hard day's work and finds her children have left their toys strewn all over the floor in every room of the house, she becomes very angry indeed and threatens to throw every toy in the bin.

Bulls, as you may not know, really don't get angry at the colour red at all, because their eyes cannot discern that colour. What actually makes them angry is the movement of something that is waving about in front of their eyes.

Answer: Black

If anyone is described as being the "black sheep of the family", this means today that this person is someone who has not turned out like the rest of the family and become a nice law-abiding citizen with a steady job and a settled life. Instead, this person may have broken the law on various occasions and ended up in prison - or is always getting into fights - or has dropped out of school and refuses to get a proper job. The saying could also mean that this person has not done what is expected of him or her as far as the rest of the family is concerned.

Perhaps they all worked in areas of teaching or nursing or joined the army - all nice steady jobs with lots of career opportunities and a steady income - but their "black sheep" instead has refused to do any of those occupations, and run off instead to join a circus or hitchhike around the world or become a sumo wrestler or anything at all that is totally removed from the lives of the rest of the family.

This saying arose many years ago because the colour black has always been associated with the negative in many parts of the world. You have black cats, black looks, black is associated with funerals and death, a black room is a rather frightening place in which to be, and black itself is not a cheerful looking colour at all. Poor old black.

Answer: Blue

This is nonsense of course, but it was once believed that the blood running through the veins of members of the upper classes of people, such as the nobility and members of royalty, was said to be blue - while the blood of the ordinary old common people and lower classes was red.

The belief was also rather racial in nature too, because it was once thought that the upper class people never married into people from other cultures or races, and so their blood was kept pure. Isn't that terrible? However, that's the way people almost all thought way back in days gone by. You can laugh heartily at this idea, because, as you know, our blood is red, no matter if we're born in India, Africa, Hawaii, Australia or anywhere in the world, whatever rank in society we hold, and whatever religion we choose to follow.

Answer: That person was born into a life of comfort and ease

These people, described as such, have been born into a life of comfort, wealth and privilege, where they have never wanted for anything in their lives, everything has been given to them whenever they've asked for it, and people have usually deferred to their every wish. Whether or not those people actually like or respect that type of privileged person is another question, isn't it? You don't buy respect - you earn it.

Silver, like gold, has been very much valued for its worth, and was sometimes worth MORE than gold in certain eras of history, so that is the reason it has become associated with a silver spoon. The spoon reference refers to all the fine cutlery these very wealthy people used to eat their meals, for, back through the ages the very poor people of society sometimes only had a wooden spoon with which to eat, or just had to pull their food apart with their hands with no cutlery at all.

Answer: Something totally unexpected has happened

"A bolt from the blue" is a term to describe a very unexpected happening of some kind which has taken you completely and overwhelmingly by surprise. This could be really bad news such as being fired from a job, or being accused of something horrible by the authorities or a friend that you simply did not do - OR it could be really wonderful unexpected news, such as coming top of your class in a very difficult exam, or winning a big prize, or receiving an unexpected marriage proposal.

The expression itself refers to a bolt of lightning shooting down from the sky on a beautifully fine day, because that can actually happen on very rare occasions. It is not likely that this will never happen to you, so don't concern yourself worrying about it.

Answer: Jealousy

Green has always been a colour to describe the faces of people who are feeling ill - "Looking green around the gills", for example - because their faces lose their normal healthy colouring and do go a type of funny looking pale green or odd white. So it has become a colour associated to a degree with the negative. There is also a connection with eating food that isn't ripe yet, that is still green, food can give you a bad pain in the belly and make you feel ill.

If anyone is also described as being "green with envy", it means they are feeling rather jealous about the success or luck of another person. So the term "a green-eyed monster" has arisen out of all these negative associations. For those of us with green eyes, this is really a bit insulting, don't you agree?

Answer: Yes

Uh-oh, if you are caught red-handed, you most definitely are in trouble, for you've most likely been caught doing something illegal, or wrong or forbidden. Breaking into a house for example when suddenly a policeman's torch shines fully upon you, or being caught stealing cookies out of the cookies jar when your mother has expressly forbidden that. You've been caught in the act, in other words. Not that you'd be doing that, of course. Or would you? Look out if so.

One of the major origins of this expression is its very literal meaning of someone being caught with blood all over his or her hands following the murder of another person, but that's a bit grim for a quiz, so we'll stick with pinching cookies out of the cookie jar instead.

Answer: Best of health

To be described as being "in the pink" is to be feeling really healthy and happy, with not a thing wrong with you physically. That's a wonderful thought, isn't it, so hopefully you're all feeling like that, and not, like me, with a mild dose of measles, so, although I may look pink, I don't feel IN the pink.

This saying arose because of the healthy colouring of new born babies with their lovely pink cheeks, and of healthy individuals as well. You're just feeling on top of the world, which is a wonderful way to be.

Answer: It happens very rarely

It anything is described as taking place once in a blue moon, this means that though it does occur, it happens very rarely indeed. An example of this saying could be a tired and hard-working mother returning home from a long day's work to find that, MOST unexpectedly, her children have packed all their toys away neatly and not left them here, there and everywhere. A delightful surprise indeed!

A blue moon today is also a term to describe the appearance of a second full moon in the one month, something that rarely takes place. The term "lunar month" means that the moon is full only once every 28 days. A second full moon appearing in a CALENDAR month (anything up to 31 days, such as the month of October, for example) would be considered very unusual then. Also, the moon, which, as you know, isn't blue at all, can sometimes appear to be that colour after dust particles fill the air following a volcanic eruption.

Answer: A coward

If anyone has been described as a "yellow belly coward" this is a severe insult, and usually has the result of a fist fight between two men or two boys. It's rather rare to hear a woman or a girl described in such a way, simply because the term is used under circumstances involving feats of derring-do or battle that have traditionally always been associated with the male of the species. This doesn't mean in any way that women or girls aren't capable of such feats, but that traditionally, until more recent times, their roles in society were more along the lines of child-rearing and housewife. This is all changing today, so that no boundaries are being placed on the achievements of females in many societies.

Who knows then, somebody in the future could also describe another female as a yellow belly coward as well, but I wouldn't want to be around when that happens, would you?