What it means
It means going out to have a huge, lively night and fully leaning into the chaos. You say it when the plan is drinks, noise, dancing, bad decisions with glitter on them, and getting home at an hour that barely counts as night anymore. It’s a classic dramatic way to say you’re going properly out out.
Usage examples
"We’re painting the town red for her birthday, bar-hopping till late, ordering daft rounds, and pretending tomorrow’s not a thing."
"We finished the exams and went out to paint the town red, did not get home until the sun was up."
"It is her fortieth, so we are painting the town red, fancy dinner, dancing and the whole works."
"Payday hit, so we painted the town red and woke up with kebab receipts and one missing charger."
"They’re off to paint the town red after the final, dressed up, full of chat, and absolutely not pacing themselves."
Where it comes from
It’s commonly tied to an 1837 night of chaos in Melton Mowbray, England, when the Marquis of Waterford and his crew went on a drunken rampage and reportedly daubed buildings with red paint. That story helped lock the phrase into English as a vivid way to mean going out and raising hell.
Other ways to say it
This expression also appears in
