red flag
3
5.7
- noun
- /rɛd flæɡ/
:
bandera roja
- The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 appeared to have sounded the death knell for the ideas of Marx and Lenin in Russia, but just over two decades on, a new wave of young and increasingly visible socialist activists is eager to hoist the red flag over the Kremlin once more.
Examples
-
The red flag of China with its five gold stars hangs limp against a backdrop of tall green cedar trees.
Academic text (1992) -
About 20,000 protesters waving red flags marched peacefully through the center of Athens to the embassy of the United States, which protesters accuse of having supported the six-year military dictatorship.
Blog text (6) -
The goal was to plant the red flag as far west in Europe as possible.
Academic text (1992) -
As in Paris, the red flag was associated with the social democrats and the demand for a republic.
Academic text (1991) -
In politics, a red flag is a symbol of socialism, or communism, or sometimes left-wing politics in general.
Blog text (31) -
Red flags snap in the wind around the granite obelisk, a monument to the People's Heroes.
Fiction book (2001) -
By contrast, the red flag never flew over Bangladesh—our left forces have been history's orphans, always missing that "inevitable" rendezvous.
Blog text (4) -
During the May Day parade, the crowd proudly marched while waving their red flags to symbolize their support for socialist ideals.
-
The leaders raised the red flag during the rally to signal their dedication to left-wing political movements.
-
At the historic site, visitors admired the red flag that once represented the revolution of the working class.
Surface Forms
Morphology
A B1 learner who knows 'red' and 'flag' will readily infer the literal compositional meaning 'a flag that is red', so the basic form is transparent. However, the specific conventional political meaning as a symbol of socialist/left‑wing movements is culturally conventional and not directly derivable from the constituents without background knowledge, so the overall item is only partially predictable.
Etymology
Red flag became a symbol for socialist and left-wing movements when people waved red banners during protests and revolutions. The bright red color stood for the workers' struggle and unity, so the red flag now represents that political idea.