local color
Americannoun
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distinctive, sometimes picturesque characteristics or peculiarities of a place or period as represented in literature or drama, or as observed in reality.
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Fine Arts. the natural color of a particular object as it appears in normal light.
Etymology
Origin of local color
First recorded in 1715–25
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Opera delivers a “Turandot” that does at least provide local color.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 6, 2024
Hughes also predicted that global diets will become more uniform, since the loss of agricultural and livestock variety will lead to a loss of local color in diets.
From Salon • May 4, 2023
Vividly filmed with vibrant local color and nonprofessional actors, it movingly captures a clandestine sisterhood in a male-controlled society.
From Seattle Times • Jul. 10, 2021
Heat-Moon visited small towns like Subtle, Ky., and Scratch Ankle, Alaska, absorbing local color and wisdom.
From New York Times • Jul. 28, 2020
They’re tourists, from Japan it looks like, a trade delegation perhaps, on a tour of the historic landmarks or out for local color.
From "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
