in red ink
1
6.5
- idiom
:
en números rojos
- The bank was gushing billions in red ink and required repeated infusions of federal bailout cash.
- awash in red ink
Examples
-
Then I add, in red ink, at the bottom:
Fiction book (2002) -
Man I was carrying twice that in red ink before you even showed up.
-
His comment, scrawled in red ink on the last page, was "This has potential."
Fiction book (2001) -
U.S. agriculture depends on exports; without exports, it is in red ink.
Academic text (1998) -
Her name and address in red ink were visible on the mailing label, so she turned the package over.
Fiction book (2001) -
The company's finances are dire, and they have been operating in red ink for several consecutive quarters.
-
Due to excessive spending, the city is now in red ink, struggling to balance its budget.
-
After years of losses, the startup found itself deep in red ink, prompting a reevaluation of its business strategy.
Synonyms
7
4.9
Having less money than you owe
Antonyms
How Profitable
Surface Forms
Morphology
The literal words 'red' and 'ink' do not themselves encode the financial sense; the idiomatic meaning relies on the accounting convention of recording losses in red ink. Because a learner who knows the individual words might still not know this cultural/financial convention, the relation is partially clear but requires prior exposure or cross-linguistic/cultural knowledge (many languages use 'red' to mark deficits), so it is not fully transparent.
Etymology
In red ink comes from accountants who wrote money losses in red ink. Because numbers shown in red meant a loss, saying someone is in red ink now means 'in debt' or 'losing money'.