Seeing red

[Andy008]

Where does the phrase "seeing red" come from?

[Clanad]

To become quickly (and perhaps violently) angry. Probably the origin of this thought is the belief that a red flag enrages a bull. In 1901, Mary Harrison writing under the name of Lucas Malet, picked up the expression in 'The History of Sir Richard Calmody': 'Happily violence is shortlived, only for a very little while do even the gentlest persons 'see red.'" From "Dictionary of Cliches" by James Rogers (Ballantine Books, New York, 1985).

[Clare A]

As I'm sure Clanad knows, bulls can't actually distinguish colour, but are likely to be angered by any sort of cloth waved vigorously.

Another phrase is 'seeing a red mist'. I know this to be true of some people of my acquaintance! They become so angry that a sort of red mist descends over their normal vision, and they cease to see reason. Perhaps it arises from an increased blood flow to the area around the eyes. Not entirely fanciful, because an article in a recent issue of New Scientist identified this phenomenon as being associated with stress during interrogation.

[Andy008]

Although this isn't a nice answer for those of a nervous disposition, I was once told that the phrase came about because when people become extremely angry, they tend to stare very hard, causing the capiliary vessels in the eye to rupture, and blood to wash over the back of the retina, causing a red glaze over normal vision to come about. Hence the phrase "seeing red".