Green is an important colour in nature. It is the colour of grass and the leaves on trees, the colour of most growing plants.
Sometimes the word green means young, fresh and growing. Sometimes it describes something that is not yet ripe or finished.
Someone who has the ability to grow plants well is said to have a “green thumb”. The expression and a similar one, “green fingers”, come from the 1990s. A person with “green thumb” seems to have a magic touch that makes plants grown quickly and well. You could say that the woman next door has a “green thumb” when her garden continues to produce long after your plants have died.
You may wish to have a “green thumb”, but you surely do not wish to be a “greenhorn”. A “greenhorn” is a person who has no experience, who is new to a situation.
In the 15th century, a “greenhorn” was a young cow or ox whose horns had not yet developed. A century or so later a greenhorn was a soldier who had not yet had any experience in a battle. By the 18th century a greenhorn had the meaning it has today—a person who is new in a job.
Green is also the colour used to describe the powerful emotion, jealousy. The “green-eyed monster” is not a frightening creature from outer space. It is the name given by Shakespeare in his play Othello to jealousy.
When someone talks about the “green-eyed monster”, he is talking about the unpleasant feeling a person has when he thinks he has lost the person he loves to someone else. You could say that a person has been suffering from the “green-eyed monster” ever since his girlfriend began going out with someone else.
In most places in the world, a green light is a signal to go ahead. A green light traffic signal means your vehicle may continue on.
In everyday speech a “green light” means approval to continue with a program or action. A government agency may be given the “green light” to go ahead with a project after the government approves it.
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