The Second Continental Congress officially adopted our flag on June 14, 1777. The law read “that the flag of the 13 United States be 13 stripes alternate red and white; that the union be 13 stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation.” The flag served as a maritime flag, used exclusively to identify American ships, until 1834, when the Army adopted it as a battle flag. It didn’t become a symbol of the nation as a whole until much later.
Since 1777, Americans have associated red, white and blue with their flag, the Stars and Stripes. Among the colors of our flag and Great Seal, the red signifies hardiness and valor; the white purity and innocence, and the blue vigilance, perseverance and justice.
Colors color our language — and that’s not just a pigment of my imagination. Here’s a red, white and blue quiz that I’m confident you’ll pass with flying colors. Using the clues below, identify each common expression in English that contains the color red, white or blue. Answers appear at the end of this column.
Let’s start by seeing red:
1. in debt
2. to have a great party time in the city
3. embarrassed
4. angry
5. the bordello part of town
6. what makes someone feel especially welcome and important
7. badly sunburned
8. a plane or train that travels at night
9. discovered in the act of committing a crime
10. complications in a bureaucracy
11. nearly worthless
12. something that distracts attention from the real issue
13. a special day
14. an athlete who sits out a year to gain maturity
Now it’s time to take advantage of a white sale of expressions that include the color white:
15. characteristic of Mary’s little lamb’s fleece
16. a small untruth
17. an office job
18. pure
19. a thorough inspection
20. indicating severe tension
21. to surrender
22. an unwanted possession
23. They’re coming to take you away!
24. to conceal faults; to make the ugly look beautiful
Let’s conclude by talking a blue streak about blue expressions till you’re blue in the face:
25. to feel sad
26. manual or industrial labor
27. constant and loyal
28. of high or noble birth
29. very, very rarely
30. no dancing or drinking on Sundays, and other such pronouncements
31. a plan
32. a woman with strong intellectual and literary interests
33. a sudden insight
34. University of Delaware mascot
35. Kentucky
Answers:
1. in the red 2. paint the town red. 3. red-faced; red as a beet 4. see red 5. red light district 6. red-carpet treatment 7. red as a lobster (or beet) 8. red-eye 9. caught red-handed 10. red tape 11. not worth a red cent. 12. red herring. 13. red-letter day. 14. redshirt 15. white as snow. 16. white lie. 17. white collar 18. lily white 19. white-glove 20. white-knuckle 21. show the white flag 22. white elephant 23. the men in the white coats 24. whitewash 25. to feel blue 26. blue-collar 27. true blue 28. blueblood 29. once in a blue moon 30. blue laws 31. blueprint 32. bluestocking 33. bolt from the blue 34. blue hen 35. Blue Grass State
Please send your questions and comments about language to richard.lederer@utsandiego.com