paint the town red


Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.

paint

 (pānt)
n.
1.
a. A liquid mixture, usually of a solid pigment in a liquid vehicle, used as a decorative or protective coating.
b. The thin dry film formed by such a mixture when applied to a surface.
c. The solid pigment before it is mixed with a vehicle.
2. A cosmetic, such as rouge, that is used to give color to the face; makeup.
3. Basketball The free throw lane.
4. A Paint horse.
5. Slang The face cards in a deck of cards: I haven't seen any paint for the last ten hands.
v. paint·ed, paint·ing, paints
v.tr.
1. To make (a picture) with paints.
2.
a. To represent in a picture with paints.
b. To depict vividly in words.
3. To coat or decorate with paint: paint a house.
4. To apply cosmetics to.
5. To apply medicine to; swab: paint a wound.
6. To shine a laser beam on, especially in order to designate a target for laser-guided munitions.
v.intr.
1. To practice the art of painting pictures.
2. To cover something with paint.
3. To apply cosmetics to oneself: "Let her paint an inch thick, to this favor she must come" (Shakespeare).
4. To serve as a surface to be coated with paint: These nonporous surfaces paint badly with a brush.
Idioms:
paint the black
Baseball To throw a pitched ball over the edge of home plate for a strike.
paint the town red Slang
To go on a spree.

[From Middle English painten, to paint, from Old French peintier, from peint, past participle of peindre, from Latin pingere; see peig- in Indo-European roots.]

paint′a·bil′i·ty n.
paint′a·ble adj.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

paint the town red

To take part in a wild celebration or drinking spree.
Dictionary of Unfamiliar Words by Diagram Group Copyright © 2008 by Diagram Visual Information Limited
Translations
kirúg a hámból
References in periodicals archive ?
Merseyside Police's official Twitter account posted: "We know you'll be wanting to paint the town red tonight, but we need to make sure that you're safe.
A shop owner and her customers will paint the town red with thousands of crafted poppies in time for Remembrance Sunday.
Paint the town red with the Vivo V9's newest shade.
Pair your outfit with a bright red lipstick and matching nail polish, and get ready to paint the town red.
Keller Williams NYC (KWNYC) hosted its first "Paint the Town Red" event to help New Yorkers find the perfect home.
When there is no cat, rodents hold congresses and paint the town red. In order to stop mice and rats, you have to get a cat.
BUSINESSES can paint the town red in Caernarfon after the Buisiness Improvement District(BID) secured its first investment.
'PAINT the town red' best describes the opening of Season 92 of the National Collegiate Athletic Assocation (NCAA), the country's oldest collegiate league.
WHERE does the expression paint the town red come from?
PEOPLE are invited to paint the town red, yellow, green and blue to raise money for a specialist bereavement centre.
And they want everyone to paint the town red, to celebrate the 50th anniversary display season of the RAF Red Arrows.