red ink

English

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU):

  (file)

Noun

red ink (uncountable)

1. (idiomatic, business, management, accounting, euphemistic) Financial loss.
   • 1991 December 1, Gordon Gottlieb, “The Struggle Continues”, in Gay Community News, volume 19, number 20, page 11:

     GCN has gleefully swum against the political mainstream. Less comfortable has been the financial torrent that now washes the paper in red ink. Being out of step politically has meant not having access to lucrative advertisers.

   Antonym: black ink

2. (slang) Cheap red wine.

See also

• in the black
• in the red

Anagrams

• Kidner, drinke, kidren, kinder, kinred