Did You Know - It's All Red

It's been a while since I post a blog under the 'Did You Know?' series. So here it comes for the first 'Did You Know?' series in 2014. It's all about the colour red.

1. Caught Red Handed

The meaning of caught red handed is to be caught in the act of committing a misdemeanour with the evidence. The origin of the phrase can be traced back to the Scotland in the 15th century. It was believed to refer to people who had been caught with blood for murders or poaching.

The phrase 'red hand' was first mentioned in Scottish Act of Parliament of James I written in 1462. After that it appeared in many Scottish legal proceedings. It became widely used after it's being used in Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe in 1819.

Example of a sentence using 'caught red handed' is "WMW was caught red handed trying to pass a take out dinner as her own cooking when Sima found the take out boxes in the trash can"

2. As Red As Carpaccio

Carpaccio is an Italian word as well as an Italian dish of raw meat such as beef, veal or venison; or fish such as salmon or tuna, and mainly served as appetizer. The dish was named after an Italian painter Vitorre Carpaccio who loved the colour red and white in his paintings. 

3. Red Herring

Red herring is an idiom which referring to something that misleads or distracting from the relevant information or issues. There are various theories on the origins of this idiom. One of the theories was that in 1800s, fugitives would a herring across their trail, which diverted the attention of bloodhounds that were pursuing them.

Another similar theory was from the practice of using the oily and smelly herrings to lay false trails for hunting dogs. 

Example of a sentence using 'red herring' is "Sir Arthur Conan Doyle loved to throw a few red herring in his novels to keep readers guessing".

Click here for more examples of usage of red herring in different circumstances.

You may add other idioms/phrases/sayings which contain the colour red, and I will add it in this blog.

Additional idioms/phrases which had been added by EC Members:-

1. Roll out the red carpet (Luzzi) - to give someone some treatment befitting royalty or it also means to give someone, most of the time someone important, a special treatment.

2. Red-letter day (Anele) - means a significant or an important day

3. Red card (Barbare) - means that being sent off from a field/game

4. Red-faced (Expector Smith) - means flushed with embarrassment or anger

5. Red-blooded (Mr. Bob) - means strong and highly spirited. It also can connote vigorous or virile.

6. Paint the town red (Galina) - means to go out (party) and enjoy oneself enormously or flamboyantly.

7. Red tape (BalaSheila) - means excessive of bureaucracy or adherence to official rules and formalities.

8. Red as cherry (Galina) - means bright red

9. Go beet red/Go as red as beet (Galina) - means to become very red in the face, usually because you're embarrassed. 

10. Thin red line (Libor Kocian) - means line drawed on map/line of touch with enemy - military operational level

 

My other Did You Know? series:-

1. Did You Know?;  2. Continuation;  3. Another Continuation;  4. Not Another Continuation!; 5. Gosh! Will It Never Ends?;  6. Oh No! Not Another One!;  7. Here Comes Another One;  8. Another One?;  9. One, Two, Eighty Six?; 10. Punishment? OMG!; 11. Is This A Swan Song?;  12 John Has It All?; 13. It's All In The Myth;  14. This Is Random;  15. It's A Dog's World;  16.  It's Also A Cat's World;  17. Is It A Mouse World Too?;  18. Dutch Flavour;  19. It's The Greek Flavour;  20. It's All Greek;  21. All That Gold; 22. It's A Horsey Year

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Comments

  • Thanks for that 'thin red line', Libor. I'll add it in the blog.

  • Thin Red Line - line drawed on map - line of touch with enemy - military operational level

  • Thank you Selma for reading my blog. I really appreciate it. :)

  • Thank you dear, great job ! will be following your blogs,

  • WOW Sono. I never heard such term of red screen before. Thank you for sharing such information. I really appreciate it.

  • Dear Bala

    2389786340?profile=original

  • First of all I wanna ask to you that, about red carpet and what is in the red? Yeah I know m too let to write my comment, thanks you didn't show me red card. As you know about silver screen, but do you know about red screen?

    Well, let me briefly describe, Historically, the red screen is an error message reserved for the beta versions of some of Microsoft’s operating systems, including Windows Vista and Windows 98. The red screen of death does still exist, but is becoming a bad memory because of the changes in Windows operating systems. If the red screen appears again, even intermittently, you should seek the assistance of a trained technician. Thanks for sharing nice information Miss noaslpls.

  • Thank you Lady Cat....2389702811?profile=original

  • Galina, rambutan tastes sweet. I am not sure if you can find some canned rambutan over there. 

    Red square, all this while I thought it was aptly named for the magnificent 'red building';(is it a church or cathedral?) next to the square. I never thought it was meant to refer as 'beautiful'. Thank you once again for sharing such wonderful story, Galina. 

  • Wow! What scary fruit! So unusual and funny! The phrase:"...rambutan is something like lychee.." doesn't explain anything for me. LOL. Here in Russia we have neither 'rambutan' nor 'lychee', but I think both of them are delicious. How do they taste? I haven't seen them even in the supermarkets. The only chance to taste them is to visit Malaysia.

    Noas, and one more thing concerning the colour 'red'. I can't help mentioning it. In ancient Russia 'red' meant 'beautiful'. That's why the most famous square in Moscow is called Red square. It doesn't mean it's red in colour. When in the past people gave this name, they meant 'beautiful'. Also we have such word combinations as 'krasny devitsy' ('red girls' = 'beautiful girls'), 'vesna krasna' (red spring = beautiful spring) and so on.

    Red square in Moscow ( main square in Russia):

    red-square-moscow-russia.jpg

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