dyeing scarlet
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
Heavy drinking, which in time will dye the face scarlet. They call drinking deep, dyeing scarlet. 1 Henry IV, ii, 4.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “dyeing scarlet” mean?
Heavy drinking, which in time will dye the face scarlet. They call drinking deep, dyeing scarlet. 1 Henry IV, ii, 4.
Is “dyeing scarlet” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.