The Mean Reds

“You know those days when you get the mean reds?” asks Audrey Hepburn’s character Holly Golightly in the classic film Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

Confused, Paul Varjak (played by George Peppard) responds, “The mean reds? You mean, like the blues?” But this is not what Holly means.

“No. The blues are because you’re getting fat, and maybe it’s been raining too long. You’re just sad, that’s all. The mean reds are horrible. Suddenly you’re afraid, and you don’t know what you’re afraid of. Do you ever get that feeling?”