red light

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red light (plural red lights)

1. A warning light, especially as a traffic signal indicating stop.

   We ran three red lights on the way to the hospital.

   • 1955 April, D. S. Barrie, “Railways of the Bridgend District”, in Railway Magazine, page 447:

     Paddington [the GWR HQ] saw the red light, however, and the extension to Nantgarw was withdrawn on the G.W.R. agreeing "to lay down the narrow gauge [actually standard gauge as compared to broad gauge] from Didcot over the whole of their system in South Wales."

2. A sign of a brothel.
   • 1978, Sting, “Roxanne”:

     Roxanne, you don't have to put on your red light.

3. (idiomatic) A denial to proceed a ruling out of any possibility.

• (traffic signal for stop): stoplight, stop light

• third leg

Borrowed from English red-light district.

• IPA^(key): /ʁɛd lajt/

red light m (plural red lights)

1. (North America) red-light district

   Synonym: quartier chaud