Idiom
see yellow
Meaning
To receive a yellow card.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“The player saw yellow for a late tackle.”
“Our goalkeeper sees yellow for touching the ball outside the box.”
“You see yellow if you take your shirt off to celebrate a goal.”
“The referee did not hesitate to make the defender see yellow after that dangerous challenge.”
“If you keep wasting time during these goal kicks, the referee will eventually make you see yellow.”
“The midfielder had to see yellow to stop the opponent from starting a fast counter-attack.”
“The striker saw yellow after he dived in the penalty area to try and win a foul for his team.”
“Although the captain argued his case with passion, the official remained unmoved and forced him to see yellow for his persistent dissent.”
Examples
simple
“The player saw yellow for a late tackle.”
“Our goalkeeper sees yellow for touching the ball outside the box.”
“You see yellow if you take your shirt off to celebrate a goal.”
contextual
“The referee did not hesitate to make the defender see yellow after that dangerous challenge.”
“If you keep wasting time during these goal kicks, the referee will eventually make you see yellow.”
“The midfielder had to see yellow to stop the opponent from starting a fast counter-attack.”
“The striker saw yellow after he dived in the penalty area to try and win a foul for his team.”
complex
“Although the captain argued his case with passion, the official remained unmoved and forced him to see yellow for his persistent dissent.”
Origin
First recorded in the mid-20th century, the expression is a modern formation modelled on the nineteenth-century idiom see red. While the latter suggests the sudden visual disturbance associated with anger, this variant adapted the structure to signify the onset of cowardice or jealousy. The construction relies entirely on the existing linguistic pattern of the earlier phrase.
Key words
Related idioms
- Updated