red-letter day









red-letter day


noun

  1. a memorably important or happy occasion

A special or memorable day; the expression refers to the old custom of printing holidays in red on calendars: “John got promoted and engaged to be married yesterday; it was truly a red-letter day for him.”

A special occasion, as in When Jack comes home from his tour of duty, that’ll be a red-letter day. This term alludes to the practice of marking feast days and other holy days in red on church calendars, dating from the 1400s. [c. 1700]

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