red tide

red tide

1. Any large concentration of algae drawn up from the sea and collecting on the surface of a body of water, though it may not be exactly red in color and is not dependent on or related to the tides. An unusual number and intensity of storms in this region has contributed to a near-constant presence of red tide, which is frustrating beachgoers and threatening the fishing industry. The sharp uptick of respiratory problems in the seaside town has been blamed on the red tide that has been present ever since the hurricane last month.
2. slang A menstrual period. Potentially offensive if used by anyone other than the one menstruating. Sorry for being so snappish with you, I'm just having my red tide at the moment. A: "I bet she's just down with the red tide." B: "Jeff! Don't say something so presumptuous and crass!"
See also: red, tide
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

red tide

n. a menstrual period. (Punning on the name of a tidal phenomenon where the water appears reddish owing to the presence of certain kinds of microscopic creatures.) Sorry, she’s down with the red tide and really prefers to stay home.
See also: red, tide
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions
See also:
  • pond scum
  • submerge (someone or something) under (something)
  • submerge under
  • skim over
  • skim over (something)
  • drift along
  • drifting
  • (as) smooth as glass
  • radiate
  • radiate from (someone or something)
References in periodicals archive
Even after the red tide abated, bookings for 2019 tanked.
Caption: During red tide, diver Jeremy Sterk found lobster and other sea life dead at Rooney Reefoff Naples.
Nick Shay, Professor of Ocean Sciences, University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, said the currents that would take red tide from the Gulf of Mexico into the Atlantic Ocean are always circulating, but the levels of algae in the Gulf are extremely high.
* More than $100,000 in additional funding to Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium to increase its response to red tide impacts.
As certain types of phytoplankton can make marine organisms poisonous to humans, the Ministry urges fishermen and beachgoers to refrain from fishing and collecting shellfish for consumption in the areas of red tide. In addition, people with allergies are asked to avoid swimming in affected waters.
The RAK authority observed biological activity in the form of chlorophyll pigments in the local waters which "indicates the presence of phytoplankton, commonly known as algal bloom or red tide, in the areas alongside the economic zone overlooking the west coast of the Arabian Gulf and the eastern coast of the Gulf of Oman," the ministry said in a statement.
In this paper, a fuzzy c-means clustering algorithm is proposed for the red tide prediction.
The hotline receives calls all year-round, not just during events like the red tide. Every year, manatees get struck by boats, become entangled in fishing or crab-trap lines, or suffer other problems.
The units will resume operations once SEWA is certain that the effect of red tide on the area's seawater has vanished, he noted.
Two beaches were closed in Donegal earlier this month due to the huge red tide.
Shandong, (Xinhua-ANI): A red tide measuring 780 square km in size has been detected in waters near east China's city of Rizhao, according to a notice issued Saturday by the State Oceanic Administration (SOA).
Summary: TEHRAN (FNA)- Red tide is spreading around the coasts off the United Arab Emirate in the Persian Gulf, killing off multiple species of corals and reducing fish populations of the region.
Red tide is a scourge that has affected humans throughout the ages.
A "red tide" is a harmful algal bloom that occurs when toxic, microscopic algae in seawater proliferate to a higher-than-normal concentration (i.e., bloom), often discoloring the water red, brown, green, or yellow.
Asthmatics, however, are more vulnerable to red tide aerosols, reports Lora Fleming, an epidemiologist at the University of Miami School of Medicine and Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, with her colleagues in the January 2007 issue of Chest.