red stuff

American  

noun

1. a compound of oil and sesquioxide of iron used for polishing brass, steel, silver, etc.; crocus or rouge.

---

Etymology

Origin of red stuff

First recorded in 1840–50

Example Sentences

The spider has developed a special sense that allows it to detect blood and will choose small, blood-filled mosquitoes over larger ones that don't contain the red stuff.

From Salon • Oct. 31, 2024

“The interpretation of that is that the exposure of the sun is burning off some of the red stuff as you get closer,” he said.

From New York Times • May 29, 2023

Red tape eventually was abandoned for white or undyed tape because of its tendency to bleed, but in its heyday, the government used vast amounts of the red stuff.

From Washington Post • Jan. 16, 2023

“We don’t know what this red stuff is,” says John Spencer, a planetary scientist at SwRI and deputy project scientist on New Horizons.

From Science Magazine • Dec. 27, 2018

But the jet kept getting closer, and red stuff kept pouring out the bottom.

From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz