Liberal free for all coming to an end

[The Conquistador]

smc and I now have settled our diffferences, misunderstandings and will now go paint the town red. It's either that or get drunk and light some shit on fire.

[Enoch Root]

Umm, what's that campfire song? Hosanna? I guess? Am I getting this right?

What does that mean, painting the town red?

[smc]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

Umm, what's that campfire song? Hosanna? I guess? Am I getting this right?

I suspect you mean "Kumbayah."

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

What does that mean, painting the town red?

It means to engage in some sort of spree, originally riotous and bloody (hence the "red") but over time to mean go out at night, around town, and hit all the top spots, drinking, cavorting, carousing, and so on.

One origin of the phrase is said to come from the 1830s when a group of friends ran around a town somewhere in Leicestershire, England (I can't remember exactly), late a night, and painted a whole bunch of buildings red.

Another is the "Spring Heeled Jack" legend of England, which is linked to Henry de la Poer Beresford, a notorious hooligan who, while at Oxford University, used to cause a lot of mayhem. It included literally upsetting apple-carts, breaking windows, and painting the heels of a parson's horse with aniseed (which would come out red).

[smc]

Someone questioned my post about the origins of "paint the town red," so I thought I'd offer another answer. This comes from one of my favorite books: Morris Dictionary of Word and Phrase Origins, by William and Mary Morris, published in 1962:

"This colorful term for a wild spree, especially one involving much drinking, probably originated in the frontier. In the nineteenth century the section of town where brothels and saloons were located was known as the 'red light district.' So a group of lusty cowhands out for a 'night on the town' might very well take it into their heads to make the whole town red."

Personally, I think Mr. and Mrs. Morris are wrong, since the earliest known appearance of the term "red light district" dates from 1894.