2025-09-09 Phrases with ‘red’ – English In A Minute

Introduction

You know what ‘red’ is – it’s the colour of strawberries, stop signs and traditional London double-decker buses! But did you know that there are some English phrases with the word ‘red’? Learn some of them here with Phil.

Phrases with ‘red’

see red
become very angry, often suddenly

• When the umpire said the serve had landed outside the line, the tennis player saw red and smashed his racket!

be left red-faced
be embarrassed by something that has happened to you

• The politician was left red-faced after forgetting the name of the Prime Minister on live television.

a red herring
a false clue which distracts from the real answer

• The detective thought she had found the clue that would crack the case, but it turned out to be a red herring.

in the red
in debt; owing money

• The unexpected tarriffs meant that the company was in the red at the end of the year.

TRANSCRIPT

Note: This is not a word-for-word transcript.

Phil
How exciting is this colour? Let’s learn four phrases with ‘red’.
 
If you see red, it means something makes you really angry, often suddenly.
 
When he spoke to me like that, I saw red – I just couldn’t stay in the room.
 
If someone is left red-faced, it means something embarrassing has happened to them.

I was left red-faced when I went to the wrong meeting.
 
You might get confused by a red herring. When you’re trying to solve a mystery, a red herring is a clue that makes you believe something false. It distracts you from the real answer.
 
This game’s too hard – I thought I’d solved it, but all the clues were red herrings.
 
If, like me, you spend too much money on luxuries, you might be in the red.
That means you owe money.
 
If we don’t bring the costs down, we’ll end up in the red.
 
Here are four phrases with ‘red’. Try to use them this week!