See red means to become extremely angry. It describes sudden, strong anger when a person briefly loses control: because of rudeness, unfairness or something being damaged. The idiom sounds lively in IELTS Speaking, but in an essay it is replaced with become furious.
When would you say see red?
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see red (when/if + clause); make someone see red; saw red (past)
- I see red when people jump the queue at the supermarket.
- My dad saw red when he found a scratch on his new car.
- Rude comments about my accent really make me see red.
What changed
First versionPeople who talk on the phone during a film make me to see red.
RevisionPeople who talk on the phone during a film make me see red.
When make means to cause or force, the next verb comes without to: make me laugh, make me see red. It is easy to add to by analogy with force me to or ask me to. The extra to was removed in the correction.
Be in the red sounds similar but means something completely different: to owe money, spending more than you earn. The shop has been in the red since March. See red is only about anger, and in the red is only about money.
Your turn
When the builder said the kitchen would cost twice the price he'd promised, my husband ___ and started shouting.
Show the answer
saw red — The builder doubled the price and the husband started shouting, so he became furious: saw red. Felt blue means felt sad, and sadness doesn't make you shout at a builder.
Think of a situation that made you really angry: on public transport, in a shop or at work. Say what happened and what you did next.
I saw red when a colleague presented my report as his own at a meeting, so I spoke to our manager that afternoon.
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