turn a number of shades of red

turn a number of shades of red (third-person singular simple present turns a number of shades of red, present participle turning a number of shades of red, simple past and past participle turned a number of shades of red)

1. (intransitive, idiomatic) To blush, especially with embarrassment or shame
   • 2017 September 1, "Ms.Caramel" (username), Sandra Rose‎ (blog):

     I must have turned 2 shades of red. Talk about embarrassed.

   • 1997 August 1, Courtney Weaver, “When straights can't take "yes" for an answer”, in Salon Magazine‎ (article):

     Tristan craned his neck, but not before Fred suddenly looked over at us, turned 17 shades of red and ducked behind a palm tree, busily arranging tortilla chips in little anally retentive rows.

   • 2015 August 1, "nonochuu" (username), Tumblr‎ (blog):

     To say that Midorima turned a billion shades of red would be an understatement.

• The specific number of shades varies wildly. However, it is most commonly an odd number between 10 and 30, especially 17 or 27.