to paint the town red
3
6.9
- idiom
- Informal
:
salir de fiesta
- After a long week at work, they decided to paint the town red and enjoy a night out with friends.
- going out to paint the town red
Examples
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Tonight, we are going to paint the town red and celebrate her birthday at the new bar downtown.
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Let's go paint the town red.
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We're gonna paint the town red.
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You can paint the town red!
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We can paint the town red together.
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We're gonna paint the town red!
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We'll paint the town red.
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Some people paint the town red.
Blog text (4) -
When I first moved out here in my 20s, I wanted to go out every night and paint the town red.
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Join us as we paint the town red this weekend by visiting all the best clubs and restaurants.
Synonyms
27
4.5
Do something with a lot of energy and excitement, often in a big, showy way
1
9.9
To party loudly and wildly, often drinking a lot
To have a wild, loud party with dancing and music
Antonyms
How Lively
- Informal
3
9.4
- Informal
3
6.9
- Informal
298
3.0
91
2.6
893
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to go out and celebrate' cannot be derived from the literal constituents 'paint' + 'town' + 'red'—a B1 learner would interpret it as coloring a town red rather than partying. The celebratory sense is an idiomatic/metaphorical extension specific to English and is unpredictable without prior exposure.
Etymology
Paint the town red may come from an old story where a group of people really painted the town red after a wild night out. That bright image of covering the town in paint became a way to say 'go out and celebrate'.