beige flag

What does beige flag mean?

Beige flag refers to a neutral sign or trait in a potential romantic partner, something that is neither a definite turn-on or turnoff, but falls somewhere on a continuum between the two. Beige flags are sometimes referred to as quirks; they can be weird or slightly annoying (or endearing), but aren’t dealbreakers.

Examples of beige flag

When I see ‘I love to travel’ in a bio, I see it as a beige flag and a form of template dating. It’s not quite a red flag, but a glaring signal that someone’s playing it safe with copy-paste advice from 2015. Show people why you’re interesting, don’t just state the obvious.
—Christopher Alesich, quoted at _DesiBlitz.com, 22 Dec. 2025

Beige flag: you found your soulmate but they love to clap when the plane lands.
—@jetblue, Threads, 8 Aug. 2023

Call it the joy of beige flags, but daters are also looking more for trustworthiness over attraction. “People want to feel safe, and a great way to feel safe is in a loving, trusting relationship,” [Stephanie] Danzi said.
—Sarah Laing, The Toronto (Ontario) Star, 10 Jan. 2025

Where does beige flag come from?

While the metaphorical uses of both red flag and green flag rely on the histories of both colors to mean “stop” and “go,” respectively, in signal communication, beige flag instead trades on the color beige’s reputation as being somewhat boring or intermediate, as a usage from the late 2000s demonstrates in comparing a beige flag to a white flag, which signals surrender:

Indeed, the Monday night dumping of veterans Jose Contreras and Jim Thome, combined with word that Williams had put other vets out there for the taking, smells like surrender. In its philosophy, if not its overall effect, the sloughing brings to mind the notorious “White Flag Trade” of 1997, when the Sox were just 3½ games out of first place. Still, most reasonable people can see there is something wrong with this year’s Sox, that the chemistry never took, the ingredients never made the beaker boil. Call it the “Beige Flag” deal, then. Maybe taupe.
—Rick Telander, The Chicago Sun-Times, 2 Sept. 2009

How is beige flag used?

Beige flag, unlike red flag and green flag, has thus far mostly been limited to referring to traits of potential romantic partners, as opposed to neutral traits or signals in other contexts. While people often write about what they consider beige flags in others, it is not uncommon for folks to identify and list their own quirks.

My own lengthy-yet-not-definitive list of beige flags include taking a tinfoil-wrapped cheese sandwich in my handbag on all trips longer than two hours; saying -go this way- and making a vague pointing gesture in no particular direction; lovingly curating my running shoes by colour and category.
—Susan Swarbrick, The Herald (Scotland), 6 July 2023