redhead

Everyday

1. A person with red or orange-red hair. tree →
2. The name of some birds or animals with red heads, such as the redhead duck in North America. tree →

In the lessons

In everyday life and stories it describes how someone looks. It is mostly friendly, but teasing people about red hair (calling them «ginger» meanly in the UK) can be bullying. In science, red hair comes from genes passed down from parents. Phrases: «a natural redhead», «a fiery redhead» (a stereotype).

Examples

• My cousin is a redhead with lots of freckles. tree →
• Anne of Green Gables is a famous redhead in books. tree →
• Redheads can get sunburnt easily, so they need sun cream. tree →
• The baby was born a redhead like her dad. tree →
• Both of my brothers are redheads. tree →
• A redhead duck was swimming on the pond. tree →
• Wherever Redhead went, the wolf followed, and kept one eye on him and the other on Tom, to see if he would give him leave to eat him. tree →

Note

Countable: a redhead, two redheads. Written as one word. Myth: redheads do not have «fiery tempers» — hair colour does not decide your temper. In the UK «ginger» is common and can be used kindly or unkindly.