Red Hot

Of course, everyone is familiar with Red’s association with anger, like when you see red, or embarrassment, when you go beet[1] red (like the vegetable) and your face turns red. Besides emotions, red is popularly used to describe extreme situations. The old weather proverb, Red skies at night, sailors delight. Red in the morning, sailors take warning, means that a red sunset[2] predicts calm waters, however a red sunrise[3] predicts rough waters. Another example is if you have to be prepared for a dangerous situation, especially if you are a soldier, you are (put) on red alert.

Another situation to avoid is to be in the red, which means you are in debt, or owe money. And you definitely don’t want to end up[4] not having a red cent, meaning that you don’t have any money at all. Or having something that is not worth a red cent because it doesn’t have any value. An extremely frustrating situation is when you get caught in red tape, when you get overburdened and slowed down by unnecessary, official paperwork.

Obviously, if something is red-hot, it is literally extremely hot to the touch. But figuratively, it refers to something or someone that is very exciting or successful. (The latest news about the politician’s disappearance is red-hot. Liverpool is red-hot, there’s no team that can stop them.) If you receive the red-carpet treatment, or they roll out the red carpet for you, that means that you are given a very special welcome like a VIP, or Very Important Person, such as a glamorous actress on Oscar Night. Such a welcome might be the prelude to a red-letter day, or very special or important day.

If you plan to have a fun night out, having drinks and going dancing, you could say that you’re going to paint the town red. Of course, I’m sure you’ll stay away from the red-light district, where sex is exchanged for money! But if you do, be careful, in most countries, this is illegal. If you are found doing something illegal or wrong, like stealing from the cookie jar, you are caught red-handed. This expression comes from having blood on your hands after committing a murder. Speaking of blood, if you have bloodshot eyes[5], your eyes are red from exhaustion, probably due to a lack of sleep (after painting the town red). This is why we refer to a late, overnight flight as a red-eye.

An energy drink, like Red Bull, might help pick you up[6]. Perhaps you might like to have herring for breakfast. Make that a red herring! A red herring is something used to divert our attention from something, a common device used in book and movie plots. By the way, what were we talking about?!

[1] remolacha, [2] puesta de sol, [3] salida de sol,

[4] acabar, [5] ojos inyectados de sangre, [6] levantar