Red Skins. The name first given by the white settlers to the Indians of North America.
Red Rose. An inn sign, in compliment to the Lancastrians during the Wars of the Roses.
Red Sea. Three reasons are assigned for the name of this sea: the red sandstone which forms its bottom, the red rocks which in some parts border its shores, and the colouring imparted to its waters by coral reefs, animaculæ, and sea-weed.
Red Tape. That leisurely officialism which refers a matter from one department to another, until at length the highest authority is reached to take it in hand. The term has been derived from the red tape with which all legal and official documents are tied together.
Reel. A whirling dance by a single person, peculiar to the Scots, so called in allusion to the winding of cotton on a reel.
Reformed Presbytery. See “[Macmillanites].”
Reform School. An Americanism for an institution for the reformation of juvenile offenders.
Refresher. The legal term for an extra fee paid to a barrister by a client while the latter’s case is pending, in order to refresh the former’s memory concerning the interests at stake.
Regent Diamond. See “[Pitt Diamond].”
Regent’s Park. Part of the general scheme of John Nash, the royal architect, when he projected the building of Regent Street, was to provide a magnificent palace for his patron, the Prince Regent, in the park named after him. This was not realised, and the site of the intended palace was appropriated to the Zoological Gardens.