Idioms - Red

Idioms with a word 'red'

as red as a cherry - bright red
The car was as red as a cherry after its new paint job.

as red as a poppy - bright red
The mark on my arm was as red as a poppy.

as red as a rose - intensely red
The morning sunrise was as red as a rose.

as red as a ruby - deep red
The office assistant was wearing lipstick that was as red as a ruby.

as red as blood - deep red
The stain on the carpet was as red as blood.

catch (someone) red-handed - to catch someone in the middle of doing something wrong
The woman was caught red-handed when she tried to steal some cosmetics.

ears are red - one's ears are red from embarrassment
My ears were red after hearing what the teacher said about me.

in the red - to be in debt, to be unprofitable
It's the end of the month and we're in the red again. We have to control our spending better.

like a red rag to a bull - what you are doing will definitely make someone angry or upset
Don't talk to him about politics - it's like a red rag to a bull.

out of the red - out of debt
Our company is finally out of the red and we are now making money.

paint the town red - to go out and celebrate
They went out last night and really painted the town red - they didn't come home until 5 a.m.

red-carpet treatment - to receive special/royal treatment
I always receive the red-carpet treatment when I go and visit my aunt.

red-eye - an airplane flight that leaves late at night and arrives early in the morning
We caught the red-eye flight last night and we are very tired today.

a red flag - a signal that something is not working properly or correctly
The fallen trees along the road raised a red flag for the safety inspectors.

red herring - an unimportant matter that draws attention away from the main subject
Talking about the other issue was a red herring and did not do anything to deal with today's problem.

red-hot - very hot, creating much excitement or demand
The new video game is red-hot and many people are waiting to buy one.

red in the face - embarrassed
I became red in the face when the teacher began talking about me.

red-letter day - a day that is memorable because of some important event
You have to cut through a lot of red tape to get proposals accepted in this company.

red tape - bureaucratic paperwork
Many businesses complain about the red tape that they must deal with in order to get anything done with the government.

roll out the red carpet - to greet a person with great respect, to give a big welcome to someone
The government rolled out the red carpet when the politician came to visit.

see red - to become extremely angry
When people are cruel to animals, it really makes me see red.