Red - Idioms

Idioms

Many idiomatic expressions exploit the various connotations of red:

Expressing emotion

• "to see red" (to be angry or aggressive)
• "to have red ears / a red face" (to be embarrassed)
• "to paint the town red" (to have an enjoyable evening, usually with a generous amount of eating, drinking, dancing)

Giving warning

• "to raise a red flag" (to signal that something is problematic)
• "like a red rag to a bull" (to cause someone to be enraged)
• "to be in the red" (to be losing money, from the accounting habit of writing deficits and losses in red ink)

Calling attention

• "a red letter day" (a special or important event, from the medieval custom of printing the dates of saints' days and holy days in red ink.)
• "to print in red ink" (for emphasis or easy identification)
• "to lay out the red carpet" or "give red-carpet treatment" (to treat someone royally as a very special person)
• "to catch someone red-handed" (in the act of doing something wrong, such with blood on his hands after a murder or poaching game)

Other idioms

• "to tie up in red tape". In England red tape was used by lawyers and government officials to identify important documents. It became a term for excessive bureaucratic regulation. It was popularized in the 19th century by the writer Thomas Carlyle, who complained about "red-tapism".
• "red herring." A false clue that leads investigators off the track. Refers to the practice of using a fragrant smoked fish to distract hunting or tracking dogs from the track they are meant to follow.