turn a number of shades of red
English
Verb
turn a number of shades of red (third-person singular simple present turns a number of shades of red, present participle turning a number of shades of red, simple past and past participle turned a number of shades of red)
- (intransitive, idiomatic) To blush, especially with embarrassment or shame
- 2017 September 1, "Ms.Caramel" (username), Sandra Rose (blog):
- I must have turned 2 shades of red. Talk about embarrassed.
- 1997 August 1, Courtney Weaver, “When straights can't take "yes" for an answer”, in Salon Magazine (article):
- Tristan craned his neck, but not before Fred suddenly looked over at us, turned 17 shades of red and ducked behind a palm tree, busily arranging tortilla chips in little anally retentive rows.
- 2015 August 1, "nonochuu" (username), Tumblr (blog):
- To say that Midorima turned a billion shades of red would be an understatement.
Usage notes
- The specific number of shades varies wildly. However, it is most commonly an odd number between 10 and 30, especially 17 or 27.