reds under the bed

reds under the bed

The belief or mentality that agents of communism are hiding amongst the greater populace, waiting for an opportunity to spread their agenda. An allusion to the paranoia that gripped America and other countries during the Cold War. Sometimes hyphenated if used before a noun. Despite the collapse of the Soviet Union so many years ago, there is still a mentality in the country that there are reds under the bed, so espousing a belief in anything resembling socialism is likely to make you a political pariah. The senator's reds-under-the-bed rhetoric is woefully outdated today.
See also: bed, red
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

reds under the bed

used during the cold war with reference to the feared presence and influence of Communist sympathizers in a society.
See also: bed, red
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
See also:
  • be moonstruck
  • end game
  • a security blanket
  • game is not worth the candle, the
  • strike out at (something or some place)
  • hit (something) out of the (ball)park
  • end run
  • an end run
  • the mark of Cain
  • call shotgun
References in periodicals archive
Mr A Robbins Caerphilly Reds under the bed SO MR Corbyn finally shows his true colours: he wants to be a dictator.
I have to admit I did not check for Reds under the bed before I made my choice and I do not recall Ivan being instrumental in any shape or form.
Peggy Boyd, Liverpool Seeing red IT IS something of a political tradition in this country that whenever the ruling class and its political agents, the Tory Party, fear rising support for Socialism in the populace, they resort to "Reds Under the Bed" scaremongering and smears.
Spielberg has crafted an absorbing and intelligent drama that cleverly questions the motives behind the America of the McCarthy 'reds under the bed' era.
Where in the past western hysteria raged about "Reds under the bed," today it rages about Muslims suspected of scheming to overthrow democracy and establish an Islamic "tyranny." It may be that radicalization is part of a wider crisis, a malaise of modernity that includes killing sprees by disturbed young Americans.
laSt in SERIES Foyle's War sunday, itv, 9pm They're not fighting WWII any more, just the threat of nuclear war, rationing and Reds under the bed. Michael Kitchen and Honeysuckle Weeks return as the tec and his toff-talking sidekick.
She tries to make out that as a result of Ed Miliband attending the Durham Miners' Gala, the world is being taking over by "reds under the bed".
There were definitely no Communists or reds under the bed. It is a myth that there was a plethora of Communists or Reds under the bed.
Are we to return to the Reds Under the Bed of the 1960s and 1970s where unions nearly brought this country to its knees?
As The Invasion (2007), the fourth film version of Jack Finney's 1955 book, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, once again makes clear, the spore as an invader vehicle from inside/outside was an image of the cold war, when red scares taught America to fear its own fifth columnists--the reds under the bed. The cold war gave rise to a discourse of infiltration, the formation of sleeper cells by other names, turncoats, Manchurian candidates, and assorted traitors, both witting and "brainwashed" (a term from the Korean War).
ONCE upon a time when we didn't know any better, the two western super powers America and Britain used to scare the s*** out of us by telling us to beware of the Reds under the bed.
It's so important that stable staff get this recognition; that they realise they are appreciated Lungo gives a ringing endorsement to the inaugural awards I love it when these old horses bounce back David Chapman, thrilled to send out ten-year-old Torrent for a 20-1 victory in a Southwell sprintIn my opinion, this is an industry that's seeing reds under the bed everywhere these days Trainer James Eustace, furious that the security department is investigating his Leicester winner's previous race at Warwick I'll never forget going home in the car with father.
Maybe Cllr Taylor really believes the Reds under the bed nonsense being spun by members of the Conservative party opposed to our membership of the European union, I don't know.
RICHARD Guest does not have Reds under the bed - but he has three of them in his stable and they could all make the line-up for Saturday's Martell Cognac Grand National at Aintree.
Raising finance rather than reds under the bed is the main problem for producers, especially since the melt-down of several East Asian capital markets.