彼は赤の他人だよ — He's a total stranger to me
How did "red stranger" come to mean "total stranger" in Japanese? Is there anything that makes this expression make sense more than "That's just what it means"?
Answer
The color term 赤 'red' is historically related to 明るい 'bright, clear' or 明らか 'evident'. From this, the 赤 in the expressions such as 赤の他人, 真っ赤な嘘, or 赤っ恥 means 'clear, complete'. This will make them mean 'complete stranger', 'complete lie', 'complete shameness'.
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