You’ve probably heard of colors like Tiffany Blue and Burnt Sienna, but have you ever come across Lusty Gallant? Back in the 16th century, Elizabethan designers used creative color names as a clever marketing strategy to sell clothes. Lusty Gallant was originally the name of a popular song, and dressmakers borrowed it to describe a shade of pink. Other imaginative color names from that era included Popinjay Blue, Pease Porridge Tawny, and Goose Turd Green.
Hi, I’m Erin McCarthy, editor-in-chief of Mental Floss, and welcome to the List Show. Today, we’re exploring some lesser-known colors that don’t get as much attention as the classic rainbow colors. From Puke to Isabella, some of these hues have intriguing backstories. Let’s dive in!
Goose Turd Green might sound odd, but it can’t beat the peculiar name of a color called Puke. Surprisingly, this color has nothing to do with vomit. In the 1500s, Puke referred to a luxurious wool cloth used for gowns and stockings. The color of these items varied, and there wasn’t a single definition of what Puke looked like. In the 1530s, scholar Thomas Islet described it as a shade between russet and black. Later, linguist John Florio mentioned it as a deep dark purple. The inconsistency likely stemmed from the lack of quality control in dye-making back then.
Shakespeare’s use of color in his plays also left a mark. In “Macbeth,” he used the word “incarnadine” to describe turning the seas red with blood. However, at the time, “incarnadine” meant dyeing something flesh-colored, specifically pale pink. Shakespeare’s influence changed its meaning to blood red, which is how we understand it today.
Many color names in English have French origins. For example, “filament” comes from the French “feuille morte,” meaning dead leaf, and describes a dull brown or yellowish-brown. “Verdater” is a blue-green hue, derived from the French “verdeter,” meaning green of Earth. Another example is “sans updates,” a vibrant orange-red, inspired by the color of a poppy flower.
Some colors have historical significance. “Udine,” meaning “water of the Nile” in French, was popular in Western fashion in the early to mid-20th century. It’s a light greenish hue with tan undertones and a cool bluish cast. This color appeared in Alfred Hitchcock’s films, with Grace Kelly wearing an udine suit in “Rear Window.”
Nature has also inspired color names. In the 1780s, naturalist John Latham described various species as “Rufus,” meaning brownish-red or rust-colored. Today, we have the Rufous Hummingbird and Rufous Rat Kangaroo, among others. The term “Glaucus” describes a pale grayish-blue or green, like the frosted coating on grapes.
Some colors have unique names with interesting origins. “Malicrous” refers to a honey-colored hue, derived from the Greek word “Meli” for honey. “Xanadu” is a dull grayish-green, ideal for military uniforms. “Feltgrow,” German for “field gray,” was worn by 20th-century German soldiers. “Phlox” is a fluorescent hue known as psychedelic purple, perfect for tie-dyed t-shirts.
Many colors are named after places. “Zolfarino” is a purple-red dye named after a battle in Italy. “Magenta” also comes from a battle name. In Sweden, “falu” is a red color used for barns, named after the city of Falun. “Labrador Blue” is a muted grayish-blue associated with labradorite, a mineral first found in Labrador, Canada.
Some colors have legendary stories. “Isabella” or “Isabelene” is a yellowish-brown or grayish-yellow hue. It’s said to be inspired by Isabella Clara Eugenia, who allegedly wore the same undergarments during a three-year siege. However, this story might be more myth than fact.
For a fun twist, what would you call the pale yellow inside a banana peel? The paint company Benjamin Moore named it “Banan Appeal.” In future episodes, we’ll explore quirky attractions and places around the world. If you know of any unique spots, let us know in the comments!
Imagine you are a designer in the 16th century. Create a unique color name inspired by a song, place, or story from that era. Describe the color and its potential use in fashion or art. Share your creation with the class and explain your inspiration.
Choose one of the lesser-known colors mentioned in the article, such as “Puke” or “Isabella.” Write a short story or poem that incorporates the color and its historical context. Present your work to the class, highlighting how the color’s history influenced your narrative.
Research how colors are used symbolically in literature, focusing on works by Shakespeare or other classic authors. Create a presentation that explores the symbolic meanings of colors in these texts and how they compare to the historical color names discussed in the article.
Conduct a color mixing experiment using paints or digital tools to recreate some of the unique colors mentioned in the article, such as “Udine” or “Xanadu.” Document your process and results, and present your findings to the class, explaining the challenges and surprises you encountered.
Investigate how different cultures name and perceive colors. Compare these findings with the historical color names from the article. Create a visual or written report that highlights the cultural significance of colors and how they influence art, fashion, and language.
Here’s a sanitized version of the provided YouTube transcript:
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You’ve probably heard of Tiffany Blue and Burnt Sienna, but what about Lusty Gallant? According to 16th-century clergyman William Harrison, Elizabethan designers came up with a variety of creative color names as a marketing tactic to sell clothes. Lusty Gallant was originally the title of a popular ballad, and dressmakers borrowed the phrase for a shade of pink. Other creative colors included Popinjay Blue, Pease Porridge Tawny, and Goose Turd Green.
Hi, I’m Erin McCarthy, editor-in-chief of Mental Floss, and welcome to the List Show. Today, I’m covering some colors of the rainbow that don’t get quite as much publicity as ROYGBIV. From Puke to Isabella, one of those hues has a potentially sickening backstory, and it’s probably not the one you think. Let’s get started!
Not even Goose Turd Green can rival the ick factor of a color called Puke. Thankfully, this one is unrelated to vomit. Back in the 1500s, Puke was a high-end wool cloth often used to make gowns and stockings. The word came to describe the color those items were dyed, though there wasn’t one universal understanding of what that color actually was. In the 1530s, scholar Thomas Islet pegged it as between russet and black. Several decades later, linguist John Florio mentioned a deep dark purple or “puke” color, so it was definitely pretty dark.
You can probably chalk up the inconsistency to a lack of quality control in the 16th-century dye-making industry. Whatever shade Shakespeare was picturing when he mentioned a “puke” stocking in Henry IV, Part One, is lost to history. His use of the word “incarnadine” in Macbeth is much more clearly defined. In Act 2, Scene 2, Macbeth says, “Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather the multitudinous seas incarnadine,” meaning the green one red. In other words, there’s so much blood on his hands that it could turn the ocean red.
But there’s one tiny problem with the verb “incarnadine” here: at the time, it didn’t mean to turn something blood red; it referred to dyeing something flesh-colored, specifically the pale pink of lighter skin tones. Shakespeare tweaked the meaning to better suit his story or maybe just to fit the constraints of iambic pentameter. But such was his influence that ever since, “incarnadine” has been associated with blood red.
The dull brown or yellowish-brown of a dead leaf is called “filament,” from the French term “feuille morte,” which just means dead leaf. And that’s not the only time English speakers have anglicized a French phrase for a color. “Verdater” is usually described as a blue-green hue, from which the Verdater Flycatcher gets its name. It comes from the French “verdeter,” meaning green of Earth, not to be confused with “Verde Terre,” which means earthworm.
Other color names have been borrowed from French. “Sans updates” refers to a vibrant orange-red, describing the color of a poppy flower. In English, the purplish-blue of a Periwinkle flower is simply known as Periwinkle, but some may prefer to use the French word “Provence.”
One hue that had a particular hold over Western fashion and decor in the early to mid-20th century was “udine,” French for “water of the Nile.” As Katie Kelleher wrote for the Paris Review, it’s a tricky color to pin down precisely. It is a light greenish hue, more saturated than Celadon and less gray than Sage, with tan undertones and a cool bluish cast. You can find a couple of notable examples in the films of Alfred Hitchcock; costume designer Edith Head dressed Grace Kelly in an udine suit in Rear Window and reused the color for Tippi Hedren in The Birds.
Speaking of birds, in the 1780s, naturalist John Latham described various species as “Rufus,” meaning brownish-red or rust-colored. The term comes from “Rufus,” a Latin word for red, often something more like red-haired. Latham was the first person documented in the Oxford English Dictionary to use the anglicized version, but the trend of describing wildlife as “Rufus” didn’t stop with him. Today, we have the Rufous Hummingbird, the Rufous Rat Kangaroo, and more Rufous-colored critters.
An “O” added to the Latin word for a color to form a new English adjective was popular among early naturalists. “Glaucus” became “Glaucus,” typically describing a pale grayish-blue or green, like the frosted powdery coating that forms on grapes and other fruits. “Fulvis” became a dull brownish-yellow, akin to Tawny, like a lion’s mane. “Wengay” describes a much darker brown, specifically that of the Millettia laurentii, a tree native to Central Africa known for its durability and resistance to termites.
Why call a honey-colored substance honey-colored when you could call it “malicrous”? In Greek, “Meli” means honey. You probably know “Xanadu” as the title track of a trippy 1980 movie musical starring Olivia Newton-John or as the alternate name of the Mongol city Shangdu, dreamed up by Samuel Taylor Coleridge in his poem “Kubla Khan.” Xanadu is also a dull grayish-green—not quite what you’d picture in a stately pleasure dome, but grayish-green is pretty ideal for military uniforms.
“Feltgrow,” German for “field gray,” describes the shade worn by 20th-century German soldiers. “Tabatanist” refers to a genus of more than five dozen plant species, some of which bloom in bright pinks and purples. To artists, “phlox” is an especially fluorescent hue known as psychedelic purple—a must-have on any tie-dyed t-shirt.
While doing research for this episode, we came across a totally silent 12-hour YouTube video of a blank screen of the color “phlox,” posted by Mood Light TV. I’ll leave it up to you to decide what mood you’d associate with that on your TV.
“Vinatius” is a descriptor that leaves a little room for interpretation; it just means the color of red wine. Somewhere, a sommelier is rolling their eyes at such a lack of specificity. “Flame of Burnt Brandy” is definitely a more imaginative term, but it might still cause you to ask, “What color is that?” According to an 1821 edition of the Ladies’ Monthly Museum, the answer is lavender gray, pale yellow, and dark lilac. Fashionable Parisian women of the era favored it for bonnets, woolen gowns, and Spencers—those short waistcoats you’d probably recognize from any period-accurate Jane Austen adaptation.
Other colors owe their moniker to places on the map. “Zolfarino” in Lombardy, Italy, is the namesake of a purple-red dye discovered not long after the Battle of Solferino, a decisive event in the Second War for Italian Independence. Magenta, by the way, was named after the Battle of Magenta from the same conflict. If you’re driving around Sweden and see a red barn, that color is commonly known as “falu.” It gets its name from Falun, a Swedish city once famous for its copper mines. The byproducts of all that mining didn’t go to waste; locals combined them with linseed oil to make a rusty red paint that’s still the gold standard for farm charm today.
Labrador, Canada, didn’t just lend its name to a beloved dog breed; Labrador Blue is the muted grayish-blue associated with labradorite, a sometimes iridescent feldspar mineral first found in the region. Isabella, or Isabelene, describes a yellowish-brown, grayish-yellow, or some other faded neutral hue. It’s presumably a nod to someone named Isabel or Isabella, but nobody seems to know which one. Around the start of the 19th century, British scholar Isaac Disraeli alleged that it was Isabella Clara Eugenia, Archduchess of Austria and co-ruler of the Spanish Netherlands, who inspired the color. According to legend, Isabella refused to change her undergarments until her husband successfully captured the city of Ostend in modern-day Belgium. The siege lasted from 1601 to 1604—three whole years.
As Disraeli wrote, the supposed color of the archduchess’s linen gave rise to a fashionable color hence called “La Isabel” or “the Isabella,” a kind of whitish-yellow. The Oxford English Dictionary points out that this theory is chronologically impossible, as the first written reference to Isabella-colored garments appeared a year before the siege even began. But it’s also been suggested that it was Isabella I of Castile who inadvertently created the color trend when she refused to change her undergarments during the Siege of Granada back in 1491. Yet another possible origin is that the shade was inspired by Isabella of Castile’s great affinity for pale-coated horses.
For the grand finale of this episode, I’ll leave you with a so-bad-it’s-good pun: What would you call the pale yellow on the inside of a banana peel? The paint company Benjamin Moore dubbed it “Banan Appeal.”
In an upcoming episode, we’ll cover the coolest offbeat attractions of every state in the U.S., and one after that will feature places around the world. If you know of a quirky museum, natural landmark, or big ball of yarn in your backyard, drop it in the comments for a chance to be featured in those videos. Thanks for watching, and we’ll see you next time!
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This version removes any inappropriate or potentially offensive language while maintaining the essence of the original content.
Colors – Hues and shades used by artists to convey emotions and themes in their work. – The vibrant colors in Van Gogh’s “Starry Night” evoke a sense of wonder and movement.
Literature – Written works, especially those considered of superior or lasting artistic merit. – The study of literature allows us to explore the depths of human experience through the written word.
Shakespeare – Referring to the works of William Shakespeare, an English playwright and poet known for his profound impact on English literature. – Shakespeare’s plays, such as “Hamlet” and “Macbeth,” continue to be studied for their complex characters and themes.
History – The study of past events, particularly in human affairs, often explored through literature and art. – Historical novels provide insight into the past, blending factual events with imaginative storytelling.
Nature – The natural world, often depicted in art and literature to symbolize beauty, power, or tranquility. – Romantic poets frequently drew inspiration from nature, celebrating its beauty and mystery in their verses.
Art – The expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture. – Art serves as a powerful medium for expressing complex emotions and ideas beyond the limitations of language.
Inspiration – The process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, especially to create something artistic. – The breathtaking landscapes of the Lake District were a source of inspiration for many poets and painters.
Unique – Being the only one of its kind; unlike anything else, often used to describe distinctive artistic styles or literary voices. – The author’s unique narrative style captivates readers with its blend of humor and poignancy.
Names – Words by which a person, place, or thing is known, often carrying symbolic weight in literature and art. – In literature, names can hold significant meaning, reflecting a character’s personality or fate.
Significance – The quality of being worthy of attention; importance, often used to discuss the impact of art and literature. – The significance of Picasso’s “Guernica” lies in its powerful commentary on the horrors of war.
