ireland.localmean.com/scarlet
scarlet
SCAR-lit
Local meaning
Extremely embarrassed, ashamed, or red-faced about something.
Scarlet refers to the imagined red face of embarrassment. A speaker may be scarlet for themselves or jokingly say they are scarlet for another person whose behaviour is embarrassing.
Examples in context
- I called the teacher ‘Mam’—I was scarlet.
- I’m scarlet for yer man dancing on the table.
How it is used
The phrase “scarlet for you” can be teasing, cruel, or affectionate depending on the relationship.
Embarrassed, teasing, judgmental, amused, or sympathetic.
Social mistakes, school, dating, family stories, and online reactions.
Commonly understood in Ireland; naturalness varies by region, generation, and relationship.
Publicly declaring embarrassment for someone can intensify shame rather than share a joke.
Spelling and scope
Contemporary Irish English, with regional and generational variation.
- Search and reference forms
scarlet for youscarlet for myselfscarleh
LocalMean keeps common search spellings discoverable. Regional, historical, and Irish-language forms remain attached to one canonical meaning page rather than being split into duplicate entries.
Common patterns
- I was scarlet
- scarlet for you
- scarlet for myself
Read next
All words →Evidence and further reading
These sources support the vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, or cultural context. The entry remains open to correction from Irish speakers, regional communities, and qualified reviewers.
- The Oxford Handbook of Irish EnglishOxford University Press
Comprehensive scholarly overview of English varieties across the island of Ireland, including history, grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, pragmatics, and regional variation.
- The Vocabulary of Irish EnglishOxford Academic
Scholarly chapter on the vocabulary of Irish English and the corpus evidence used to describe it.