paint the town red
idiom
Meaning
To go out and enjoy yourself in a lively, exuberant way — typically by visiting bars, restaurants, or parties and celebrating with abandon.
Examples
"After finishing her final exam, Maria decided to paint the town red with her friends."
"They painted the town red on their last night in Madrid, hopping from one tapas bar to the next."
Origin
The most colorful explanation traces the phrase to 1837, when the Marquis of Waterford and his rowdy friends literally painted parts of the English town of Melton Mowbray red after a night of heavy drinking. Other theories link it to the bright lights of red-light districts or to American frontier slang for raucous behavior. Whatever its true origin, by the late 1800s the phrase was firmly established as a colorful way to describe a wild night out.
Similar Idioms
live it upgo on a spreehave a blastmake a night of it