Colour and light

Colour and light: metaphorical collocations

• The law about re-using pictures from the internet seems to be a grey area. [an unclear area]
• The trip to Brazil certainly added colour to our rather boring lives.
• My brother cares a lot about green issues and has volunteered to do conservation work.
• The government tried to blacken his name because he was critical of their policies. [destroy his reputation]
• I’m hoping Hilary can shed/throw some light on what happened at work yesterday. [explain]
• My sister’s illness cast a shadow over our New Year family reunion. [made it less happy/cheerful]
• Jim has always been under the shadow of his super-intelligent sister. [got less attention]