red rag

See synonyms for red rag on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. something that arouses anger; a provocation; red flag: A mere mention of the incident is a red rag to him.

Origin of red rag

1
First recorded in 1690–1700

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use red rag in a sentence

  • A pugnacious method such as she pursues towards Islam is as bad, worse in fact, than a thousand red rags to an infuriated bull.

  • I had covered myself with one of their red rags by way of concealment, and I suppose I brought it out with me.

  • These torn and mangled bundles of red rags he had watched the men dump into trenches and cover with dirt had meant nothing real.

    The Southerner | Thomas Dixon
  • Better git red rags to tie around their right hands, so's they'll know 'em.

  • They have their prejudices and "red rags," which have to be respected, for the main root of trouble is ignorance, not hostility.

British Dictionary definitions for red rag

red rag

noun
  1. a provocation; something that infuriates

Origin of red rag

1
so called because red objects supposedly infuriate bulls

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012