see red, to

To fall into a state of extreme anger, excitement, or competitive arousal, such as might cloud one's judgement or senses. He's generally not a confrontational person, but you'd better get out of his way when he sees red! I see red when anyone disrespects my wife.

to be angry. Whenever I think of the needless destruction of trees, I see red. Bill really saw red when the tax bill arrived.

Become very angry, as in I saw red when I learned they had not invited Tom and his family. The precise allusion in this term is not known, but it probably refers to the longstanding association of the color red with passion and anger. [Colloquial; c. 1900]

COMMON If you see red, you suddenly become very angry because of something which has been said or done. I cannot stand humiliation of any kind. I just see red. Comments like that make me see red. Note: This is a reference to the traditional belief that the colour red makes bulls angry. In bullfighting, the matador waves a red cape to make the bull charge.

To give way to extreme anger. Some writers believe that this term, which dates from the late nineteenth or early twentieth century, alludes to the red cape waved by the matador to anger a bull. However, there is no real verification for this hypothesis, and the expression more likely reflects the long-standing association of the color red with blood, heat, and fire, in turn associated with anger. Agatha Christie used it in Death on the Nile (1937): “Why? Because she thinks I’m not her social equal! Pah—doesn’t that make you see red?”