see red

Possibly from the red flag used in some historic armies to signal the imminence of battle, or from the red cloth used to enrage bulls in Spanish bullfighting, or more generally from the idea of red as a colour of warning and danger. Compare corresponding idioms in several European languages: Danish se rødt, German rotsehen, French voir rouge, etc.

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see red (third-person singular simple present sees red, present participle seeing red, simple past saw red, past participle seen red)

1. (idiomatic) To become enraged, angry, or irritated.
   • 1901, Frank Norris, chapter 2, in The Octopus:

     "So help me, God," he cried, "when I think it all over I go crazy, I see red."

   • 1920, William MacLeod Raine, chapter 22, in The Big-Town Round-Up:

     Nothing but his temper, the lack of self-control that made him see red . . ., had kept Jerry out of a world championship.

   • 1925 July – 1926 May, A Conan Doyle, “(please specify the chapter number)”, in The Land of Mist (eBook no. 0601351h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg Australia, published April 2019:

     "It makes me see red when I remember these folk, Lady This and Countess That, declaring all the comfort they have had, and then leaving those who gave it to die in the gutter or rot in the workhouse."

2. (idiomatic, soccer) To receive a red card, and be dismissed from the playing field.
   • 2005 January 26, Rob Hughes, “Soccer: Trio from Senegal is having a ball”, in New York Times, retrieved 14 November 2013:

     Diop, sometimes criticized for passive play, saw red once this season when he lashed out at a foe who kicked away his legs.

   • 2010 December 28, Kevin Darlin, “West Brom 1 - 3 Blackburn”, in BBC‎:

     Kalinic later saw red for a rash tackle on Paul Scharner before Gabriel Tamas was dismissed for bringing down Diouf.

• See also Thesaurus:anger

• deeres, reedes, reseed, seeder