English Explanatory Dictionary

paint the town red

English dictionary entry

Meanings

verb
  1. To party or celebrate in a rowdy, wild manner, especially in a public place.

Pronunciation

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-paint the town red.wav

Word forms

paint the town red paints the town red painting the town red painted the town red paint the town

Etymology

US slang. Earliest known use 1884. Various theories include the red from bonfires, the heat from over-stoked paddle-wheel boilers, and town demarcation lines in the Wild West. A British claim attributing it to the actions of the Third Marquess of Waterford predates the first known use by decades.

Related words

on the town
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