中国人在结婚大喜之日，爱用红色来衬托热烈、喜庆的气氛；而西方人却喜欢用白色来象征感情的纯洁、真挚。不同的文化给颜色赋予了不同的内涵，体现在不同的语言中，表示颜色的词也就有了不同的意思。
"红"--RED

1. in the red 亏损、负债

A large number of factories operate in the red.

许多工厂都是负债经营。

2. red-handed 当场地

The man was caught red-handed in robbery.

那个人在抢劫时被当场抓住。

3. Paint the town red （俚语）指酗酒狂欢，大玩一阵

He's painting the town red in celebration of his good luck at the track.

他为庆祝自己在田径场上运气好而狂欢痛饮。 当然，"red"也可用来表示喜庆，高兴的心情。

4. red-letter day 指日历上用红字表示的纪念日；大喜日子，节日。

It was a red-letter day for us when Paul came home.

保罗回来的那一天是我们值得庆贺的日子。

5. red carpet 喻指隆重的欢迎，隆重接待。

Mary's family rolled out the red carpet for her teacher when she came to dinner.

老师来玛丽家吃饭时，全家都表示热烈欢迎。

"黑"--BLACK

"black coffee"不是"黑咖啡"，而是"没有加牛奶的咖啡"，"black tea"不是"黑茶"，而是"红茶"。下面的black，你明白是什么意思吗？

1. black eye 指被打得发青的眼睛，口语中指挫败；不好的名声，不体面。

The committee gave him a black eye; they turned down his proposal.

委员会使他大受挫折；他们断然拒绝了他的提议。

2. black mark 指记过符号；过失，损坏名声的东西。

Jim has a few black marks against him, but in general he is O.K.

吉姆有一些过失，但一般说来，他是不错的。

3. black sheep 喻指害群之马；不肖之子。

Poor Tom, who is always the black sheep of the family, is always in disgrace.

可怜的汤姆，他是这一家的不肖之子，总是不受人尊重。

"白"--WHITE

1. white elephant 喻指昂贵但使用价值不高的东西；好看不中用的东西。

The foreign aid to the country was believed to be nothing but a white elephant.

那个国家得到的外援不但无益而且成了沉重的负担。

2. white lie 指小谎言，不含恶意的谎言，常指安慰人或与人为善的谎言。

Sometimes we are forced to tell a white lie.

有时我们被迫讲些善意的谎言。

"绿"--GREEN

1. as green as grass 比喻幼稚的，无生活经验的。

The youth was new to the ways of the city and being green as grass, he soon fell into bad company.

那个青年不熟悉城市的情形，又无生活经验，不久就结识了一伙坏人。

2. green eye/ green-eyed 表示忌妒

When John's brother got a new bike, John was green-eyed.

约翰忌妒哥哥买了一辆新自行车。

3. green hand 生手，新手。 Don't blame on him, after all, he is a green hand.

不要责备他，他毕竟是个新手。