black

be in someone's black books be in disfavour with someone.

☞ Although a black book was generally an official book in which misdemeanours and their perpetrators were noted down, this phrase perhaps originated in the black-bound book in which evidence of monastic scandals and abuses was recorded by Henry VIII's commissioners in the 1530s, before the suppression of the monasteries.

beyond the black stump: seestump.

black and blue covered in bruises, (as if) from a severe beating.

black box an automatic apparatus, the internal operations of which are mysterious to non-experts.

☞ Black does not refer to the colour of the device but to the arcane nature of its functions. Originally Royal Air Force slang for a navigational instrument in an aircraft, the phrase is now used in aviation specifically to refer to the flight recorder.

the black dog a metaphorical representation of melancholy or depression. informal

☞ The expression is particularly associated with the British politician and war leader Winston Churchill, who used it to characterize the fits of depression from which he periodically suffered.

2019Russell LewisEndeavour 'Was he much given to leaving you alone of an evening without saying where he was going?' 'When the black dog was on him.'

black hat: seehat.

a black mark against someone something that someone has done that is disliked or disapproved of by other people.

☞ The literal meaning of the phrase is a black cross or spot marked against the name of a person who has done something wrong.

the black sheep a person considered to have brought discredit upon a family or other group; a bad character.

a black spot a place that is notorious for something, especially a high crime or accident rate.

2012Daily Telegraph Despite Hackney's reputation as an unemployment black spot, there are more artists per square foot there than in any other London borough.

in the black not owing any money; solvent.

in black and white

1 in writing or in print, and regarded as more reliable than by word of mouth.

2 in terms of clearly defined opposing principles or issues.

the man in black a football referee. informal

☞ The officials in football traditionally wear all black.

men in black anonymous dark-clothed men who supposedly visit people who have reported an encounter with a UFO or an alien in order to prevent them publicizing it. informal

the new black

1 a colour that is currently so popular that it rivals the traditional status of black as the most reliably fashionable colour.

2 something which is suddenly extremely popular or fashionable.

❶ 2003Guardian We've been down this road before, brown is the new black.

❷2011The Age (Melbourne) Because, now that frivolous public liability claims have slowed, corpo bullying has become the new black.

not as black as you are painted not as bad as you are said to be. informal

☞ The proverb the devil is not as black as he is painted, first recorded in English in the mid 16th century, was used as a warning not to base your fears of something on exaggerated reports.

the pot calling the kettle black: seepot.

swear black is white: seeswear.