rooi gevaar, noun phrase

/ˈrɔɪ xəˈfɑː(r)/
Origin:
AfrikaansShow more Afrikaans, ‘red peril’, rooi red + gevaar danger, peril; formed by analogy with swart gevaar.
‘The red peril’, communism; the political tactic of encouraging an unreasonable fear of communism; a communist. Also attributive. See also gevaar.
1972 Cape Argus 16 Sept. 9Mr Pyper predicted the three ‘emotional’ fronts the National Party would employ were ‘khakiegevaar, Swartgevaar, and rooigevaar’.
1981 Daily Dispatch 15 May 14The ‘rooi gevaar’ is alive and well and living in Europe. The National Party’s favourite scapegoat — when in trouble or doubt blame the communists — has its adherents in Britain and France as well. Two elections in the past week show, however, that the ‘rooi gevaar’ tactic is not a sure-fire guarantee of electoral success.
1987 ‘K. De Boer’ in Frontline May 37Even though I might be part of the rooi gevaar I remained an Afrikaner.
1990 Sunday Times 14 Oct. 22Joe Slovo, the original rooi gevaar, debated freedom of religion with Professor John de Gruchy of UCT.
1991 D. Capel in Personality 2 Sept. 20‘If the images are subliminal,’ he said emphasising the if, ‘the person or organisation responsible should be judged more harshly than any extreme terrorist group. Our minds have been screwed up by so many ideologies over the years, such as die rooi gevaar and die Roomse gevaar. Is technology now going to be used as well?’ Blignaut asked.
‘The red peril’, communism; the political tactic of encouraging an unreasonable fear of communism; a communist. Also attributive.
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Afrikaans
rooi-els, nounn.rooigras, nounn.
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