see red
Formssees red, seeing red, saw red, seen red
- 1To become angry or irritated, sometimes to the point of losing control.
Being talked down to by her boss makes her see red.
He saw red when he found a fresh scratch on his new car.
Note
Nobody is sure where the color comes from: perhaps the red flag some armies once raised before battle, the cloth waved at a bull, or simply red as the color of danger. The phrase often comes with make, as in it makes me see red, and it describes anger that overrides self-control. Frank Norris was already using it in The Octopus (1901): "I go crazy, I see red."
- 2In soccer, to be shown a red card and sent off the field.
The coach warned his captain that one more reckless tackle and he would see red.
The defender saw red for a late challenge, leaving his team with ten men for the last half hour.
Note
Sports writers have turned the angry meaning into a pun: the red card is literally what the player sees when the referee holds it up. The offense follows with for, as in he saw red for a rash tackle, and the phrase is a livelier way of saying sent off. It is said of the player dismissed, never of the referee.
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Origin
Possibly from the red flag some historic armies used to signal that battle was near, from the red cloth used to enrage bulls in Spanish bullfighting, or more generally from red as a colour of warning and danger. Compare similar idioms in other European languages, such as German rotsehen and French voir rouge.