The art practised by conjurors, wizards, and others, who professed to have dealings with the devil. Black here means diabolical or wicked. Some derive it from nigromancy, a corruption of…
Negro slaves. “She was chartered for the West Coast of Africa to trade with the natives, but not in black cattle, for slavery was never our line of business.” —J. Grant: Dick Rodney, chap…
A putrid typhus, in which the body turned black with rapid putrefaction. It occurred in 1348, and carried off twenty-five millions in Europe alone, while in Asia and Africa the mortality…
A fiend still dreaded in many country places. (See Dog.) Black Dog. Base silver coin in the reign of Anne. Made of pewter double washed. Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E.…
Extremely angry. The face discoloured with passion or distress. “Mr. Winkle pulled ... till he was black in the face.” —Dickens: Pickwick Papers. “He swore himself black in the face.” —…
A swindler, especially in cards and races. Also, one who works for less than trade-union wages; a non-union workman. “Pledging the strikers not to return to work so long as a single Black…
So called from the abounding black rock in the extensive coal-fields between the Bosphorus and Heracle'a. Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894Black SheepBlack…
The dress, turbans, and standards of the Abbasside caliphs were all black. (D'Herbelot. ) Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894Black StrapBlack Sheep A B C D…
Bad port wine. A sailor's name for any bad liquor. In North America, “Black-strap” is a mixture of rum and molasses, sometimes vinegar is added. “The seething blackstrap was pronounced…
Companies employed to watch the Islands of Scotland. They dressed in a “black” or dark tartan (1725). Subsequently they were enrolled into the 42nd regiment, under the Earl of Crawford, in…
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