I studied hard for an English test at school and it’s nice to see that my hard work paid off.With the positive news about your mother’s health, I think we should paint the town red and enjoy ourselves.Here are some examples of how phrase used in a sentence: If the phrase originated from Henry’s anecdote in 1837, then why did it take until 1882 (nearly five decades later) for it to start appearing in print? For me, this suggests that the origin of the phrase ‘paint the town red’ lay elsewhere.

“That the cow ordinance is going to paint the town red before it ceases to protest and make trouble.” However, this incident took place in 1837, and the earliest the idiom appears in print is 45 years later, in 1882 from The Brulington Daily Hawk-Eye newspaper:

Some people might think that the saying ‘paint the town red’ comes from the story mentioned above since he did paint things red. That’s the gist of the story.ĭoes The Saying Really Come From This Story?Īccording to Idioms Online, there are several stories about this phrase’s origin, but none of them seem too convincing. They also caused other kinds of damage until eventually, the police stopped them. Their vandalizing session continued as they painted several doors they passed by red. Afterwards, they took the paint buckets and went away into town. They stole some nearby buckets of red paint, including the brushes, and then they began painting the tollbooth red. The toll-man wanted to be paid, but instead of complying, Henry and his posse decided to cause a ruckus. Along the way, they arrived at a tollbooth (it should be mentioned that they were intoxicated at this time). In 1837, Henry Beresford and his friends are said to have been on their way to the town of Melton Mowbray. Let’s take a look at this story that is told about him: He was the 3rd Marquess of Waterford who lived from 1811 to 1859. What is the origin of the phrase paint the town red? Some places I’ve read say it might stem from an old tale about Henry Beresford.

Paint the town red saying