red ball

Meaning

Noun

1. (slang) A high-profile high-priority case which draws political or media attention.
2. first-class cricket, as distinct from limited overs cricket (or "white ball")
3. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see red, ball.

Adj

Of or related to priority freight or the trains that carry it.

Synonyms

amber

jasper

Etymology

* ("high-profile high-priority" sense) From a routing system on the Santa Fe Railroad in the early 1900s. Fast freight trains which were to receive priority routing were marked with placards depicting a red disc, and were called "red ball" trains.