Better red than dead

"Better red than dead" and "better dead than red" were dueling Cold War slogans which first gained currency in the United Kingdom and the United States during the late 1950s, amid debates about anti-communism and nuclear disarmament (red being the emblematic color of communism). With the end of the Cold War, the phrases have increasingly been repurposed as their original meanings have waned; for example, "better dead than red" is sometimes used as a schoolyard taunt aimed at redhaired children.

Better red than dead

"Better red than dead" and "better dead than red" were dueling Cold War slogans which first gained currency in the United Kingdom and the United States during the late 1950s, amid debates about anti-communism and nuclear disarmament (red being the emblematic color of communism). With the end of the Cold War, the phrases have increasingly been repurposed as their original meanings have waned; for example, "better dead than red" is sometimes used as a schoolyard taunt aimed at redhaired children.