Melanie Page

Recently, I was interpreting for a speaker who talked about having different elements of life cared for in such a way that relationships with other people would improve. Interestingly, they said that if you have all these elements in order, you would be in the “green zone.” I froze! My instinct was to use the signs for GREEN (like the color) and then PLACE (and mouth zone). That would have been conceptually inaccurate.

Have you ever used the phrase “green zone”? I can think of many “green” idioms, like “in the green” (you have extra money) or “give it the green light” (go forward with something). “Green with envy” is more obvious because the answer is right there, and “the grass is always greener” is easily explained with numerous examples of wanting what you don’t have. But the “green zone”?

So, how would you explain to someone what it means to be in the “green zone” if they had never heard it before?