This is an All Ears English podcast, episode 1663, Color Idioms for Business English.
Welcome to the All Ears English podcast, downloaded more than 200 million times.
Are you feeling stuck with your English?
We'll show you how to become...
Fearless and fluent by focusing on connection, not perfection.
With your American hosts Lindsay McMahon, the English adventurer, and Michelle Kaplan, the New York radio girl.
Coming to you from Colorado and New York City, USA.
To get real-time transcripts right on your phone and create your personalized vocabulary list, try the All Ears English app for iOS and Android.
Start your seven-day free trial at allearsenglish.com forward slash app.
Red light, green light.
In today's episode, you will find out how native English speakers use color idioms, especially those involving the colors red and green, in office situations.
Do you ever feel like your English is good but not quite where you want it to be?
Maybe you can have conversations but you still hesitate when expressing complex ideas.
Maybe you know what you want to say. but you can't always say it naturally.
If that sounds familiar, our B2 English fluency course was designed for you.
You'll learn how to speak more naturally, express yourself with confidence and finally stop feeling stuck at the intermediate level.
This week, you can save $50 on our basic plan or save $100 on our personal coach plan.
Go to allearsenglish.com slash B2.
That's allearsenglish.com slash letter B number two.
Hey, Michelle, how's it going today?
We are on YouTube.
Today's episode's on YouTube as well as the podcast.
How are you doing today?
I'm good.
I'm good.
Yeah, we're expecting rain in New York and I have to go pick up my son and I don't have a car to pick him up in.
And not that that would make things much easier, but I'm kind of, you know, dreading that my wet feet.
Well, you're expecting flooding is what you told me earlier.
Not just rain, but flooding.
Yeah, flooding.
There's a flash flood warning.
What is up with New York these days?
Oh, yeah, we're having a lot of trouble.
A lot of trouble.
Oh, my gosh.
I'm a little scared for the city of New York in the next 50 years, because it seems like a subway is always flooding.
That's crazy.
Well, let us know how things go.
And I wish you luck.
Put on some boots, right?
I don't think I have my, I don't, wait, maybe I do know where my boots are.
Okay.
Maybe, okay.
Maybe I know where they are.
I thought I didn't have them.
Get your boots, Michelle.
Get them.
So what are we talking about in today's episode?
We are not talking about the rain.
We are talking about colors.
OK guys, we I feel like there's so many great color idioms and we've talked about color idioms in the past.
Like, for example, we have episode 761 was your golden opportunity to avoid red flags and learn colors in English right?
So these are always helpful.
And there are a million different color idioms.
But today, we are really going to focus on how you can use these in the business world.
Yes.
Awesome.
Which ones are really helpful with business?
So we're going to teach you a few of them, because this is going to be kind of our focus today and they can be very useful.
I mean, Lindsay, why do you think in general color idioms are so useful?
They just are.
Oh, my gosh.
They just are.
It's because we live life in color.
The world's in color.
I love colors.
I like to dress in bright colors.
Like today.
I'm wearing a red shirt which, I guess, if you guys want to come over to YouTube and check it out, you'll see us on the video.
I like color, right?
It makes life more interesting.
And I think most people feel that way.
What do you think, Michelle?
Oh yeah yeah, for sure there's a reason that black and white TV turned to color.
I mean like that's great so, but I mean In business.
I think these can be useful for a few reasons.
I think they can make you more descript, right?
They can help you with that.
I think they're good for like imagery.
You know putting like, because when you say a color, you know somebody gets that image in their head.
Yes.
I think that that can really help with that connection skill and kind of forming those images.
And I also think they sound very professional.
OK, I'm looking forward to seeing what you mean there, because we want to help our listeners sound, sound competent and confident and professional.
Right.
Absolutely.
Of course, guys.
So, all right.
Without further ado, let's give you some.
Okay, let's do it, Michelle.
The first one, of course, is in the red and we never want to be in the red.
No, no, no, no, no, no.
This is a bad one.
I mean.
Well, we think of like.
I mean a lot of times.
When you hear the word red, it can sometimes be with like.
Danger or an alert or something like that.
Right.
So I feel like a lot of, you know, a lot of idioms.
I mean, maybe not all of them.
Yeah.
But, you know, could deal with that kind of idea.
So but this one certainly does.
Right.
In the red.
So this means to be in debt.
You owe money.
Right.
Yes, that's right.
Exactly.
And your accountant might tell you this, right?
Anyone that is running your numbers.
Maybe you're running your business and you don't realize that you're actually in the red.
You need someone to tell you that and say, hey, wake up, you're in the red.
You need to cut costs or make more money.
Those are the two options.
Exactly.
Exactly.
Right.
Or an accountant could say this or maybe a boss like talking about concerns.
Right.
So, for example, if our sales don't get above our goal for February, we will be in serious risk of being in the red.
Yeah.
And you know, I've seen this being talked about in the startup world, like bleeding money, right?
Really just spending money.
I know a lot of these big tech companies from.
What I understand is that they run in the red for the first few years.
And they understand that until they get their investors because they know they're going to scale and they're going to be huge eventually.
But they just lose money and run in the red for so many years.
And they actually get a good valuation even being in the red, as far as I understand it.
Oh, interesting.
That's interesting.
So yeah, sometimes it could be kind of expected or just a part of the process.
Yeah, exactly.
Let's move from, we're going to move from red to green to red to blue to white.
Okay.
Whoa, Michelle, you're taking me all over the rainbow in that case today.
All right, I'm ready.
Exactly.
So this one went for green.
It's to give something the green light.
Yes.
So to let something go ahead.
And I've also heard this, Michelle, being used as a verb to green light something.
Yes.
Yes.
Yeah.
To green light something.
I've heard that as well.
Yep.
Yep.
I love that.
I love that.
Michelle, do we have a sample sentence for our listeners?
Let's do it.
So I'll give this project the green light once you present me with the budget.
Okay, it's all about the budget, right?
It's always about the money.
Right.
So yeah, when you think of the traffic light, it's to go to the green light.
So if somebody gives you this is a very good business one, I feel.
I feel like this one is used a lot.
Yeah, a lot of these.
It's about the you know.
It's about the traffic lights being applied to the business world and business life.
And then the next one, this drives me nuts.
Red tape rules bureaucracy.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
These formal rules.
It's often like when I hear red tape, I think about the government a lot like totally you know the restrictions and the rules and it's hard to sometimes get things done because there's a lot of red tape.
And so this expression red tape, Lindsay this is, I mean this has pretty much a negative connotation, I think.
Well, at least in this country, it definitely is.
Right.
I mean, this means that things are going to get in your way.
There's going to be a lot of processes, a lot of applications to do something.
And you know, luckily the US is.
Yeah, it's relatively easy to start a business in the US compared to other countries.
From what I've heard,
I think we have less red tape than maybe Western Europe, for example.
But there still is some paperwork you know that you have to do.
That can really weigh down on your time.
So a lot of red tape, and this can be so frustrating for small companies.
Because they waste their time on, you know, bureaucratic things.
Right?
Yeah.
And I think also like when I think about like construction.
Oh, my gosh.
Yes.
Sometimes things can move fast.
Very slowly.
And it's usually not about the actual work that needs to be done, but about the red tape.
When I think of red tape, I just think of an application sitting on someone's desk and the bottom of a pile of like 100 other applications to get something done.
And that's one of many applications that needs to happen in that one project.
And it just makes me feel amazing.
Oh, frustrated.
No, I know.
Red tape is very frustrating.
So, guys, I don't think that anyone ever really uses red tape in like a good way.
At least here in a good way.
I don't think like, oh, the red tape.
I think it's a negative thing.
Unless you're a bureaucrat and you love the red tape.
Yeah.
Like make them get through that red tape.
I love it.
You know, but nobody really talks like that.
Nobody does.
Nobody.
Let's move on to blue and white.
So guys, you may have heard us mention this in the past.
So blue collar and white collar.
So jobs, right?
These are about different kinds of jobs.
Lindsay, could you explain blue collar and white collar?
So this...
I feel like this expression is going out of style a little bit.
I think people use the term working class a lot more is what I've been hearing lately.
The more working class as a sector of society, a blue collar is a type of job, right?
So a blue collar job.
This is an adjective, guys.
Jobs where we're using our hands mostly, right?
So car repair or plumbing construction, the things that you know build, you know building things, basically making the physical world work, are kind of blue collar jobs.
Would you say so, Michelle?
Yeah, I would say that these are more physical.
Wait, so you're saying that you think blue collar is more associated with working class than white collar?
Is that what you're saying?
Yeah, I think it's the same.
In my mind, blue collar is working class.
But I think that now I'm hearing more of the term working class rather than blue collar.
But maybe that's just what I'm hearing.
I think both mean the same thing and they are both used.
If you are taking the IELTS exam this year, then go over and follow the IELTS Energy Podcast.
You get to learn from 14 years of examiner experience so that you can achieve your target score and have your dream.
So go over and hit follow on the IELTS Energy Podcast and we'll see you there.
Okay, interesting.
Yeah.
So yeah, for example, I had a blue collar job until 2010 when I switched careers.
Yeah.
And you know that our economy.
When you were in school Michelle, did they teach shop, shop class, shop class.
Oh, like in high school?
Yeah, in high school, they teach shop.
Yeah well, I mean, I was in a science class where we did some, but no, I don't remember there was a shop class.
Okay, I graduated college in 2000, high school in 2000.
And they still had shop class where kids would, you know, would learn to create things out of wood.
So woodworking or any kind of a trade.
It's like a trade preparing you for a kind of trade school.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Yeah, the science class that I was in, we did a lot of woodwork, but it wasn't...
Like it was making science-y things and like it wasn't for the purpose of like learning a trade or anything.
Okay, got it.
So it's a little bit different.
So it's another job track, right?
It's a different way to go with your career.
And sometimes I wish I worked with my hands in my career, because there's so much in your head and on the computer.
It's sort of tiring at times, you know?
Right, right.
So that would be more of like a white collar job is like that office job.
But we're like I mean we're not, we don't have blue collar jobs, but also like we're not just sitting at the desk.
I mean, a lot of desk.
A lot of desk time.
Yeah, I mean, white collar.
But it's kind of different.
Right.
When I think of white collar, I think of someone getting on the train commuting to New York City sitting in a big office corporate world nine to five, that type of job.
Right?
Right, right, right.
Yeah.
So white collar job, an accountant.
Yeah.
I don't know.
That's the first thing that comes to my mind.
Like, so, for example, you could say I sometimes I get tired of my job.
It can be boring sitting doing a white collar job in my office every day.
Yeah.
And when I think about this term, I think about white collar crime.
So tax evasion.
I think of certain ex-presidents.
Yeah.
That kind of thing.
Right.
I mean, we don't know anything.
We don't have any evidence on anything.
But you know, I think of a certain type of crime that's usually treated very differently than other types of crime in the US.
And that to me is the crime right there.
Right.
Right.
Yeah.
Right.
Yeah.
It's.
That is certainly a conversation topic.
That's a conversation topic.
We won't get so heavy.
I try to get so heavy.
Yeah, we're just going through the colors today and business.
Keep it light with colors, right?
Yeah, keep it light with colors.
Yeah.
So should we do a role play?
All right, let's do it.
Here we go.
So today we're getting ready for a meeting with our boss.
Here we go.
Yeah.
I hope she gives us the green light.
I really think this would be great for our company.
Yeah, but you know she worries about being in the red.
Yeah, I think we just need to reassure her that we're confident we will profit.
Yes, we need to get around the red tape, but I'm confident we can get it done.
Yeah.
So anyway, my husband just started his new job, moving out of the white collar world to blue collar.
I think it's going to suit him more, though.
He loves to move and he really hates the office.
Nice.
Okay.
The idea of not having to look at a computer all day sounds kind of good to me.
I don't know.
It sounds great.
I think a mix is a good.
A mix.
Yeah.
I'm sure people with more physical jobs have a lot of complaints.
And probably some body issues too, right?
Eventually you have body issues.
Yeah, sure.
Exactly.
Exactly.
But so do you if you're sitting at a desk all day?
Big time.
Big time.
All right.
So the first thing I said here, Michelle, what's so funny?
No, I don't know.
You're just like big time.
Big time.
Just made me laugh.
Okay.
All right.
Yes, you said, I hope she gives us the green light, right?
So we're basically coming to our boss with an idea and we're hoping that she says yeah, go ahead, do it.
Yeah, exactly.
And you said yeah, but you know she worries about being in the red, meaning being in debt or being not profitable.
You're losing money every month, right?
Yeah.
And you said we need to get around the red tape, but I'm confident we can get that done.
So you're saying we're going to profit, it's going to be successful, but we do need to get around that red tape.
We need to get around the bureaucracy problem.
Bureaucracy, the rules, bureaucracy that's kind of weird to say that word.
Bureaucracy right yeah, all right.
So then we said you said moving out of the white color world into the blue color world.
So you're talking about your husband.
He's changing.
Maybe his former job was an accountant, now he's going to become a car repair person or something like that.
He's doing something different right Right, right right.
Exactly.
So yeah, guys, these are the idioms.
I mean, I think these are very, very suitable for the business world.
Yeah, I mean, they're just common.
It's easy for people.
Native speakers in the US doing business, they know these expressions, guys.
So that's a good reason in itself to use these if people are going to know what you're talking about, right?
Yeah.
Exactly.
Exactly.
Yeah.
So use these today and they're really helpful.
And I mean, even if you're not using them in business, you can use them too.
They're not, you know, only that you can use them if you're in a business meeting.
Yes.
They don't just belong to business people.
No.
They're not only for the business people.
But guys, if you are studying business English, you're working.
Definitely look into some of these.
Yes.
And guys check out our.
You know we are going to be releasing pretty soon a new business English grammar course.
Imagine that, Michelle, business English and grammar together.
It's going to be so cool.
So guys, go to allearsenglish.com slash biz grammar to check that out and get on the special list.
Okay.
Love it.
Okay, guys, this was fun.
Have a good one, Lindsay.
All right.
Take care, Michelle.
Bye.
Bye.
Thanks for listening to all ears English.
Would you like to know your English level?
Take our two minute quiz.
Go to allearsenglish.com forward slash fluency score.
And if you believe in connection, not perfection, then hit subscribe now to make sure you don't miss anything.
See you next time.
