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primary colours, not pastel

English translation: clear, vivid, not ambigous shades of meaning

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
English term or phrase:primary colours, not pastel
Selected answer:clear, vivid, not ambigous shades of meaning
Entered by: Jack Doughty

11:38 Dec 15, 2006
English language (monolingual) [PRO]
Art/Literary - General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
English term or phrase: primary colours, not pastel
Dear language experts,

I really don't know how to classify this question, as I don't really think this is a set phrase.

The context belongs to a set of editorial guidelines for an INGO.

"When considering matters of style, we want to be:

• Bold
• Pro-poor
• More at home in downtown Johannesburg, Delhi or Bangkok than a cluttered office
• Internationalist
• Capable of a sense of humour (including self-deprecation)
• Primary colours not pastel
• Professional
• Accessible (language and visually)"


I feel 'primary colours' might intend to suggest robustness, in contrast to the 'soft and delicate' sense of pastel, but I would much appreciate your own opinions.

TVMIA,

Álvaro :O)
moken
Local time: 03:58
clear, vivid, not ambigous shades of meaning
Explanation:
Primary colours are bright, clear and unmistakable. Pastel shades could be confusing.
Selected response from:

Jack Doughty
United Kingdom
Local time: 03:58
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED
4 +11clear, vivid, not ambigous shades of meaning
Jack Doughty
5 +6bright, vivid, bold, lively, eye-catching colours instead of pale shades
Tony M
4 +6Bold, clear cut and assertive, not shy, ambivalent or wishy washy.
Ian Davies
3 +5clearly defined, not ambiguous
George Rabel
4 +2intense, vibrant colors, as opposed to pastels/pale shades/delicate hues
Nedra Rivera Huntington


  

Answers


5 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +5
clearly defined, not ambiguous


Explanation:
I think that's the idea, Alvaro, although I never heard the phrase, and have no idea if it is a set phrase or something they just came up with.

George Rabel
Local time: 22:58
Works in field
Native speaker of: Spanish
PRO pts in category: 12

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Shera Lyn Parpia: perhaps a variation like "well defined and unmabiguous" might work.
19 mins
  -> thank you
agree  Vicky Papaprodromou
28 mins
  -> thank you
agree  kmtext
2 hrs
agree  Alfa Trans (X)
7 hrs
agree  Will Matter
2 days 6 hrs
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

7 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +11
clear, vivid, not ambigous shades of meaning


Explanation:
Primary colours are bright, clear and unmistakable. Pastel shades could be confusing.

Jack Doughty
United Kingdom
Local time: 03:58
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 370
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Tony M
3 mins
  -> Thank you.
agree  Vicky Papaprodromou
27 mins
  -> Thank you.
agree  Richard Benham
1 hr
  -> Thank you.
agree  Alexander Demyanov
1 hr
  -> Thank you.
agree  kmtext
2 hrs
  -> Thank you.
agree  Can Altinbay
4 hrs
  -> Thank you.
agree  Vanessa Fuller: I would perhaps the meaning is 'Clear & decisive, not ambiguous in our intent
6 hrs
  -> Thank you.
agree  NancyLynn
10 hrs
  -> Thank you.
agree  Vitaly Kisin
11 hrs
  -> Thank you.
agree  Hamid Sadeghieh
17 hrs
  -> Thank you.
agree  Will Matter
2 days 6 hrs
  -> Thank you.
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

10 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +6
Bold, clear cut and assertive, not shy, ambivalent or wishy washy.


Explanation:
They have said they want to be bold (see first line). This is consistent with that.

Ian Davies
Australia
Local time: 12:58
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Tony M
2 mins
agree  Vicky Papaprodromou
24 mins
agree  NancyLynn
10 hrs
agree  Caryl Swift
11 hrs
agree  Will Matter
2 days 6 hrs
agree  Nicole Y. Adams, M.A.
12 days
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

10 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +6
bright, vivid, bold, lively, eye-catching colours instead of pale shades


Explanation:
It's not exactly a set phrase as a whole, but both are standard dictionary terms.

'primary' in the strcitest technical sense means the set of 3 colours (red/green/blue for additive, or cyan/yellow/magenta for subtractive), but in layman's terms it would simply mean bold, bright colours — as distinct from pastel tones like pink, lavender, pale green, etc. which might be more restful, but less striking / eye-catching

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 12 mins (2006-12-15 11:50:20 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Oh, as Jack has pointed out, this might be referring literally to the colours used for printing, paper etc., but could also be intended more figuratively to refer to the style in which the text is written

Tony M
France
Local time: 04:58
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 309

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Vicky Papaprodromou
24 mins
  -> Efharisto, Vicky!
agree  Richard Benham: I suspect both are intended: colours (probably more just bold than any 3 specific colours) and also as a metaphor for the style of communication generally.
35 mins
  -> Thanks, RB! Yes, I think so too.
agree  airmailrpl: -
6 hrs
  -> Thanks, Airmailrpl!
agree  RHELLER: bold because pastels are somewhat conservative
1 day 4 hrs
  -> Thanks, Rita!
agree  Will Matter
2 days 6 hrs
  -> Thanks, Will!
agree  kironne
6 days
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

18 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +2
intense, vibrant colors, as opposed to pastels/pale shades/delicate hues


Explanation:
another suggestion

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 7 hrs (2006-12-15 18:38:17 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

If you want to take it less literally, you could say "intensity and vibrancy, as opposed to delicacy"

Nedra Rivera Huntington
United States
Local time: 19:58
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  airmailrpl: -
6 hrs
agree  Will Matter
2 days 6 hrs
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)



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