Meaning
A warning sign that a person, offer, or situation may turn out to be trouble, as when a behaviour signals that a potential partner or deal is best avoided. Also a verb meaning to identify or draw attention to a problem; in casual online use it often appears as the triangular red-flag emoji. Neutral to cautionary; in dating talk it is casual and often humorous rather than clinical. Regional use: General English worldwide.
Origin
Merriam-Webster dates the noun, a warning signal or sign, to 1748 and the verb, to identify or draw attention to a problem, to 1962. Literal red banners warned of danger long before, and Dictionary.com records the maritime powder flag flown by vessels carrying explosives as well as the flag's separate history as a symbol of the revolutionary left; figurative business uses, such as auditors spotting them, were standard through the twentieth century. What is new is the dating sense and its meme form: Know Your Meme documents that pairing statements with strings of the red-flag emoji grew popular on Twitter in September 2021 and became a site-wide phenomenon after a 12 October 2021 tweet by Twitter's own account, likely inspired by the Red Flags In My Room trend on TikTok.
Research Sources
References used to check this entry’s meaning, history, or documented forms.
Variants
- raise a red flag
- red flag emoji used as shorthand
- red flags
- red-flag (verb)
Usage Examples
- Refusing to meet any of your friends is a red flag in a new relationship.
- The auditor treated the missing receipts as a red flag for money laundering.
- When a job ad lists no salary at all, many applicants read that as a red flag.