also: あかタン
noun
5-point card with a red tanzaku; red ribbon card
In hanafuda, a specific card from the January (pine) suit featuring a red poetic strip (tanzaku). Worth 5 points.
See also: 短冊
赤短は松の札の一つで、赤い短冊が描かれている。
The red ribbon card is one of the pine cards, with a red tanzaku drawn on it.
noun
the three 5-point cards with ribbons (high-scoring meld)
In hanafuda, a high-scoring meld consisting of all three 5-point cards that have red tanzaku: the pine, plum, and cherry ribbon cards.
赤短を集めると高得点になる。
Collecting the three red ribbon cards yields a high score.
Refers to the poetic strip itself, not the card. 赤短 is the card with a red tanzaku.
Compound of 赤 (red) and 短, an abbreviation of 短冊 (tanzaku, poetic strip). The spelling 赤丹 is ateji.