yellow

Less common meanings

6. 6
   traffic lightnounUScountable or uncountable

   The middle light of a traffic signal, telling drivers to stop short of the intersection if they can do so safely.

   A flashing yellow warns drivers to slow down and proceed with caution.

   He thought he could get through on the yellow, but the light turned red before he reached the intersection.

   UsageDrivers go through or run the yellow.

   Similaramber

7. 7
   cowardlyadjectivecolloquial

   Showing a lack of courage; cowardly.

   His teammates thought he was yellow for backing down so easily.

   She was too yellow to admit that she had made the mistake.

   UsageBlunt and insulting; used in the pattern too yellow to do something.

   Similarcowardly

   Oppositebrave, courageous, bold, fearless

   Note

   Casual speech gives cowardice a color. The word works after a verb, as in J. D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye (1951), where what you should be "is not yellow at all." It also works before a noun as a taunt, as in Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975): "You yellow bastards!" Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

   • J. D. Salinger wrote The Catcher in the Rye, first published in 1951. en.wikipedia.org
   • The quoted wording occurs in The Catcher in the Rye, chapter 13. en.wiktionary.org
   • Monty Python and the Holy Grail was released in 1975. montypython.com
   • The film contains the exact quotation “You yellow bastards!” en.wiktionary.org
8. 8
   sensationaladjective

   Marked by sensationalism, lurid content, and little regard for factual accuracy.

   The tabloid's yellow coverage focused on scandal rather than facts.

   When sales began to fall, the paper switched to yellow journalism, filling its front page with lurid crime stories and invented scandals.

   UsageMostly in yellow journalism and the yellow press, before the noun it judges.

   Similarsensationalist, sensational, lurid

   Oppositeobjective, sober

   Note

   Journalism has a palette of disparaging colors, and yellow is the one for scandal sold as news. Doreen Carvajal's 2004 report sets "yellow tabloids" beside "the pink press" and "purple prose." It describes a publication's methods (lurid, sensational, careless of fact) rather than its subject. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

   • Doreen Carvajal's cited report dates from 2004. en.wiktionary.org
   • The report places “yellow tabloids,” “the pink press,” and “purple prose” together. en.wiktionary.org
9. 9
   light-skinnedadjectiveoffensivedatedUS

   Having a light complexion, said of a Black American of partly white ancestry; equivalent to high yellow.

   Charley threw her over for a yellow gal named Nancy: he never forgave Vashti for the vanishing from his life of a menace that had come to mean more to him than Vashti herself.

   1933, James Thurber, “My Life and Hard Times—VI. A Sequence of Servants”

   UsageSay light-skinned or biracial instead, if skin tone or ancestry needs mentioning at all.

   Note

   James Thurber's My Life and Hard Times (1933) shows its usual position, before a noun as offhand description: "a yellow gal named Nancy." High yellow is the more common, fuller phrase. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

   • James Thurber wrote My Life and Hard Times, first published in 1933. fadedpage.com
   • Thurber's narration contains the exact phrase 'a yellow gal named Nancy', with yellow preceding the noun. fadedpage.com
10. 10
    snooker (2 points)nouncountable

    In snooker or pool, a yellow ball, or one of the group of yellow balls.

    After the last red, the player lined up the yellow first.

    A clean strike sent the yellow into the corner pocket.

    UsageIn snooker, the yellow, with no need for ball; in pool, often plural: the yellows.

    Note

    Snooker has one yellow among its color balls, worth two points when potted. In British pool the word changes character: there the yellows are a whole group, and the plural is ordinary. Source

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

    • Snooker has one yellow among its coloured balls. wpbsa.com
    • The yellow is worth two points when legally potted. wcbs.sport
    • British pool uses a group of yellow balls. epa.org.uk
11. 11
    butterflynouncountable

    Any of a number of butterflies in the pierid subfamily Coliadinae, particularly those species that are yellow.

    A clouded yellow drifted across the field toward the hedgerow.

    Dozens of yellows gathered at the damp edge of the puddle.

    UsageOften in butterfly names: the clouded yellow.

    Note

    The butterfly is named for its wing color, but the name stretches across the whole subfamily Coliadinae, not only its yellowest members. Sulphur is the neighboring name to compare, another color word applied to the same group of pierid butterflies. Source

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 5 facts

    • The butterfly name yellow refers to its coloration. sgaonline.org.au
    • Yellows is a name for the whole subfamily Coliadinae. en.wikipedia.org
    • The group includes butterflies whose coloration is not predominantly yellow. peecnature.org
    • Sulphur is another name applied to these pierid butterflies. peecnature.org
    • The butterfly name sulphur also refers to coloration. extension.missouri.edu
12. 12
    Liberal DemocratadjectiveUK

    Associated with a political party whose color is yellow, such as the Liberal Democrats in Britain or the Free Democrats in Germany.

    The constituency turned yellow after the Liberal Democrats won the by-election.

    Yellow strongholds in the southwest delivered several seats this time.

    UsageBefore nouns for places, or after turn: yellow strongholds, a seat turns yellow.

    Note

    British politics identifies parties by color, and yellow belongs to the Liberal Democrats. Commentators use it as quick shorthand on election maps and in reports. Source

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

    • British political parties are identified by colors, and yellow is associated with the Liberal Democrats. en.wikipedia.org
13. 13
    adjectiveoffensivedatedAustralia

    Of mixed Aboriginal Australian and Caucasian ancestry; now dated and offensive.

    "Eh, Oscar—you hear about your yeller nephew?".

    1938, Xavier Herbert, Capricornia

    A big full-blood gin cottoned onto me. “Give us a drink, yeller feller.”

    1965, Mudrooroo, Wild Cat Falling

    UsageSay of Aboriginal and white descent, or simply Aboriginal if that is how the person identifies.

    Note

    In print it usually turns up spelled the way it was said, yeller, and often in the form of address yeller feller. Xavier Herbert's Capricornia (1938) has "your yeller nephew," and Mudrooroo's Wild Cat Falling (1965) has "Give us a drink, yeller feller." Source

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 5 facts

    • Xavier Herbert wrote Capricornia, first published in 1938. en.wikipedia.org
    • Capricornia contains the exact words "your yeller nephew," spoken by Frank to Oscar. archive.org
    • Mudrooroo wrote Wild Cat Falling, first published in 1965. openlibrary.org
    • Wild Cat Falling contains "Give us a drink, yeller feller," addressed by an unnamed Aboriginal woman to the narrator. press-files.anu.edu.au
    • Yeller is a spelling representing the pronunciation of yellow. en.wiktionary.org
14. 14
    interjection

    Said to signal that one wants a temporary pause from current sexual activity, rather than a full stop.