COLOR EXPRESSIONS

WHITE COLOR IDIOMS

White in British culture is traditionally associated with purity and innocence. See if you can work out the meaning of the following white colour idioms word for word. Then check your understanding by reading examples of how they are used in context. Finally, check again against the explanations given.

1. go as white as a sheet
2. white coffeea
3. white-collar worker
4. tell a white lie
5. whiter than white
   

Examples:

1. The news must've been bad. She went as white as a sheet when she read the telegram.
2. Do you want white or black coffee? - White please. Well, dark brown, actually - just a dash of milk.
3. He hopes to get a white-collar job, though, with his level of education, he'll be lucky to get a blue-collar one.
4. It's OK to tell a white lie. It doesn't do any harm and it nearly always does some good.
5. She's whiter than white - the image of perfection. In her entire life she has never put a foot wrong.
   
   - go as white as a sheet: become extremely pale in the face
   
   - white coffee: coffee with milk (note: not white tea; instead: tea with milk)
   
   - white-collar worker: an office worker (note blue-collar = factory or physical work)
   
   - tell a white lie: telling a lie to avoid making someone upset

- whiter than white: someone who is totally fair and honest