A dictionary of Confusable Phrases: More Than 10,000 Idioms and Collocations

red ribbon • red tape
red ribbon —(the ribbon of ) the Order of the Bath: He
[Guizot] had his red ribbon on and also his golden fleece.
red tape —bureaucratic routine: There is so much red tape
involved in obtaining a contract that it is sometimes almost
not worth the time.
Note: 
Neither expression correlates in meaning with the phrase
red band
—(UK Prison) a privileged inmate trusted as messenger
without supervision: I would then have a cup of coffee brought
to me by a “red band.”
reek of something • reek with something
reek of something —
1
. smell strongly of smth. usually nasty:
The whole room reeked of tobacco smoke. 2. suggest or inti-
mate smth. bad: His story reeks of dishonesty; I don’t believe
a word of it.
reek with something —
1
. = reek of something 
1
: Sam appeared
with Haley’s horse by his side, reeking with sweat. 2. seem to
be full of smth.: The water was absolutely reeking with all
kinds of fish with queer names.
reinvent the flat tire • reinvent the wheel
reinvent the flat tire —(U.S.) make the same mistakes again:
You don’t have to reinvent the flat tire. There is a world of
practical experience that you can take advantage of.
reinvent the wheel —(U.S.) waste time designing smth. that
has already been built and accepted: How many times have
you reinvented the wheel? We often face situations others have
encountered before us.
relieve one’s feelings • relieve oneself
relieve one’s feelings —use strong language or vigorous behav-
ior when annoyed: The policeman relieved his feelings by dis-
persing the crowd with well-directed prods of his locust stick.
relieve oneself —
1
. (euph.) defecate or urinate: There’s no
magic formula for training your dog to relieve himself outside:
it takes determination, consistency and proper training tech-
niques. 2. (dated) obtain a relief from physical pain or dis-
comfort: The moment an Englishman feels the pragmaticality
of his native land too much for his spirits, off he goes, to relieve
himself abroad.