green about the gills
Save This Word!
Also, green around the gills. Looking ill or nauseated, as in After that bumpy ride she looked quite green about the gills. The use of green to describe an ailing person's complexion dates from about 1300, and gills has referred to the flesh around human jaws and ears since the 1600s. Although in the 1800s white and yellow were paired with gills to suggest illness, the alliterative green has survived them.
QUIZ
WILL YOU SAIL OR STUMBLE ON THESE GRAMMAR QUESTIONS?
Smoothly step over to these common grammar mistakes that trip many people up. Good luck!
Question 1 of 7
Fill in the blank: I can’t figure out _____ gave me this gift.
Words nearby green about the gills
Greek yogurt, Greeley, Greeley, Horace, Greely, green, green about the gills, green alga, green algae, green audit, Greenaway, greenback
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.