Black Idioms

Several words have become part of the language in being used in phrases. Last time we looked at ‘brown’ and now look at ‘black’.

Black coffee is first described as such in 1796.

Black, when referring to something terrible or wicked has been known since the late 14th century.

Black has been the colour of sin since the early 14th century.

Black arts and black magic emerged in the 1580s.

Black drop is a liquid preparation of opium, first seen in 1823.

Black flies have been around since the early 17th century.

Blackbirds have been recorded as such since the 16th century, although it had been a surname for around 150 years. Note the blackbirds in America are not the same as the European variety – the latter misnamed as only the males are black, the females are a drab brown (and slightly more numerous).

Black Prince was the name of Edward III’s eldest son, first named such in 1560.

Black flag, a sign that no mercy will be shown by pirates, has been known since 1590.

Black dog, a phrase meaning ‘melancholy’, is seen since 1826. Joke? Sorry, you’re getting it: a man crossed a watery fruit with a sheepdog, he didn’t know what it was but it looked melon-collie.

Black belt in the judo sense is first recorded in 1913.

Black Friday began in the USA as the day after Thanksgiving (always on a Thursday) when the Christmas shopping season traditionally opens and the best bargains are to be had. In the gold UK, we Brits have also adopted Black Friday and make it last ten days – must be decimalization.

Black eyes are first seen (pun intended) in the early 17th century.

Black-eyed Susan, a generic name for a number of ornamental species, is first recorded in 1881.

Black letter is an early description of heavy Gothic-style typeface.

Black swan – is undoubtedly my favourite here (and not just because it’s a pub name). Until Captain James Cook discovered black swans in Australia around 1770, the very definition of a swan was to be white. But the pub name and the image of the Black Swan had existed well before the black swan was discovered. Indeed, the Roman poet Virgil wrote about the black swan 2,000 years ago – describing it as a rara avis or ‘rare bird’. And that was exactly what was being said when using the black swan in heraldry (or as a pub name), the message is that this is unique.