scarlet letters
Visible moral brands
Scarlet letters are visible marks of shame or disgrace, from Nathaniel Hawthorne's 1850 novel *The Scarlet Letter*, in which an adulteress is forced to wear a red "A" on her clothing.
The phrase now describes any public stigma that follows someone: Her bankruptcy became a scarlet letter in the industry.
The singular form is more common.
- markVisible impression or sign
- shamePainful awareness of failure
- stigmaMark of dishonor
- moral judgmentAssessment of right/wrong
- ostracismBanishment from a group
colonial America · infamy · social outcast · Hawthorne · Hester Prynne · Demi Moore · cloth · allegory · red · embroidery · needle · Puritanism · thread · sin · punishments · badge of shame · infidelities · dress
scarlet lettersbadges of honor
Symbols recognizing achievement
laurels · accolades · commendations · purple hearts · good name
scarlet lettersskeletons in the closet
Hidden embarrassing past
buried secrets · sealed records · clean record · plausible deniability · discretion
scarlet lettersabsolution
Formal clearing of guilt
redemption · forgiveness · pardon · clean slate · amnesty