red

better dead than red the prospect of nuclear war is preferable to that of a Communist society.

☞ This expression was a cold-war slogan; it was reversed by the nuclear disarmament campaigners of the late 1950s as better red than dead.

in the red in debt, overdrawn, or losing money.

☞ Red ink was traditionally used to indicate debit items and balances in accounts. Compare with in the black (atblack).

paint the town red: seepaint.

red as a beetroot (of a person) red-faced, typically through embarrassment.

the red carpet used in reference to privileged treatment of a distinguished visitor.

a red herring something, especially a clue, which is or is intended to be misleading or distracting.

☞ This expression derives from the former practice of using the pungent scent of a dried smoked herring to teach hounds to follow a trail (smoked herrings were red in colour as a result of the curing process).

red in tooth and claw involving savage or merciless conflict or competition.

☞ This phrase originated as a quotation from Tennyson's 'In Memoriam' (1850): 'Nature, red in tooth and claw'.

2001Observer While there is a 'red in tooth and claw' aspect to this financial sharp end, there is a still larger element in the overclass who do not get their hands quite so dirty.

a red letter day a pleasantly memorable, fortunate, or happy day.

☞ In Church calendars, a saint's day or church festival was traditionally distinguished by being written in red letters.

(like) a red rag to a bull an object, utterance, or act which is certain to provoke or anger someone.

☞ The colour red was traditionally supposed to provoke a bull, and is the colour of the cape used by matadors in bullfighting.

2013New Statesman There's no doubt that while the phrase 'tuition fees' is like a red rag to a student bull, a capped graduate tax is not.

reds under the bed used during the Cold War with reference to the feared presence and influence of Communist sympathizers in a society.

see red become very angry suddenly. informal