eau de nil

Definition

A pale green colour.

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from French eau de nil (literally “water of the Nile”).

Example Sentences

• "It was a sprawling town of upended concrete boxes tilting pastel rectangles up towards the hot sun: soft blues, prawn reds, pale chocolates, delicate eau de nils, primrose yellows[…]."
• "Such colouring! — slate blues, coral pinks, pale amphitrites, the wet cobblestone blue of mussels, frail sea-forget-me-nots, anemone yellows and carmines, emeralds and eau-de-nils!"
• "He had painted the ceiling and window and doorframes an aqua green, the walls eau-de-nil."