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Red flags are used for various signals in team sailing races (see Racing Rules of Sailing). A red flag warning is a signal of high wildfire danger, and a red flag on the beach warns of dangerous water conditions (double red flags indicate beach closure). Red flags of various designs indicate dangerous wind and wave conditions for mariners.
Flying the flag; Plain sailing; With flying colors - the colors was the national flag flown at sea during battle, a ship would surrender by lowering the colors and the term is now used to indicate a triumphant victory or win. [2] In the doldrums; All hands to the pumps; Weathering a storm; A different tack
As an idiom, it means that someone has failed at something even while putting great effort towards it. [6] A variant of this phrase is " Nail your colours to the mast ," and means that someone has done something to irreversibly commit themselves to a task or matter; referencing that by literally nailing the flags to the mast, the flags cannot ...
Red flag (idiom), a literal or metaphorical warning; Red flag (American slavery), signal of an upcoming slave sale; Red flag warning, issued by the National Weather Service in the United States; Bloody flag, maritime flag signaling an intention to give battle with no quarter (fight to the death)
Many flags on poles. Let's run it up the flagpole and see if anyone salutes it is a catchphrase which became popular in the United States during the late 1950s and early 1960s. It means "to present an idea tentatively and see whether it receives a favorable reaction". It is now considered a cliché. Sometimes it is used seriously, but more ...
An idiom is a common word or phrase with a figurative, non-literal meaning that is understood culturally and differs from what its composite words' denotations would suggest; i.e. the words together have a meaning that is different from the dictionary definitions of the individual words (although some idioms do retain their literal meanings – see the example "kick the bucket" below).
The crew of Vengeur du Peuple nailing the colours. This is an element of the later propaganda surrounding the event, and did not happen historically. Nailing the colours (also nailing the colours to the mast or nailing the flag) is a practice dating back to the Age of Sail that expresses a defiant refusal to surrender, and willingness to fight to the last man.
International maritime signal flags are various flags used to communicate with ships. The principal system of flags and associated codes is the International Code of Signals . [ 1 ] Various navies have flag systems with additional flags and codes, and other flags are used in special uses, or have historical significance.