Meaning: american black bear

n.
brown to black North American bear; smaller and less ferocious than the brown bear

lack Idiom, Proverb

a black mark

a mark beside your name means you are bad If you cause an accident, you get a black mark beside your name.

a blackout (TV)

refusal to broadcast an event during that event A blackout is intended to encourage fans to attend an event.

a blackout (war)

a policy that requires lights to be turned off Blackouts prevented bombers from seeing their targets at night.

black and white

thinking of everything or judging everything as either good or bad He tries to see everything in black and white although he knows this is impossible.

black eye

an eye injury that causes the skin to turn black """How'd you get the black eye?"" ""Fighting - in a hockey game."""

Black Friday

the day the stock market crashed (failed) in 1929 In the 1980s, there were days to remind us of Black Friday.

black-listed

excluded, not be invited, not allowed to join Gore was black-listed because he led the demonstration.

black mark

(See a black mark)

black out

remove the nameplate and trim from a vehicle James Dean drove a blacked-out Merc in Rebel Without A Cause.

black sheep

the bad one, the one who does bad things He's the black sheep in that family - always in trouble.

black sheep (of the family)

a person who is a disgrace to a family or group The man is the black sheep in his family and is the only member who has not made a success of his life.

blackout

(See a blackout)

cut me some slack

give me more time, give me more freedom You may be asking too much of your son. Cut him some slack.

give a black eye

cause a loss of respect for a person or organization, pride goeth before a fall When a priest is convicted of sexual assault, it gives the Catholic Church a black eye.

give you flack

tell you what you did wrong, criticize you He gave me flack for smoking in his car. The smell bothers him.

in black and white

in writing The company refused to deal with the customer's complaints until they saw them in black and white.

in the black

showing a profit, in a sound financial position After one year our company was in the black - showing a profit.

pot calling the kettle black

a guilty person accusing another guilty person When thief accuses robber, it's the pot calling the kettle black.

shellack

defeat in a game, win by many points The Bears were shellacked by the Pirates. The score was 19-2.

slackass

lazy person, lazy bones Larry, you slackass, get over here and help us load the truck!

take the flack

listen to the complaints, take the heat When children cause trouble, their parents take the flack.

take up the slack

do somebody's work, fill in When I'm away, Hal takes up the slack. He does my job.

black book

1. a small book carried by graffiti artists for others to do work in
2. a book to carry phone numbers in
3. The Bible

black gangster disciple

a Chicago based street gang, founded in the late 60, early 70s many experts feel that they are the for-runner to the Crips. Although the BGD's often wear blue, it's not mandatory. The major way to tell members of this gang is by the way they wear their caps with the brim cocked to the right

Black Panther movement

this movement was founded in Oakland, California by Huey P. Newton, H.R. Brown and Bobby Seale. Fought for the rights of black to bear arms like white people in the late 1960's and the early 1970's

for lack of

for want of； owing to shortage of 因缺少
The plants died for lack of water．植物因缺水而旱死。
The project was abandoned forlack of funds．这计划因缺乏资金而放弃了。

lack in

fail to have any or enough缺少；不够
This car is lacking in speed．这辆车速度不够。

look black

1．look angry面现怒容
He looked black at his enemy．他怒视敌人。
2．appear threatening；indicate misfortune（形势等）看上去严峻；呈现危机
The future looked black when father got hurt and could not work．父亲受了伤不能去上班，前景很严峻。
As prices dropped lower and lower，things looked black for Henry's company．价格一再下跌，亨利的公司面临了危机。

slack off

Idiom(s): slack off (2)

Theme: DIMINISHING

2. to become less active; to become lazy or inefficient.
• Near the end of the school year, Sally began to slack off, and her grades showed it.
• John got fired for slacking off during the busy season.

put sth down in black and white

Idiom(s): put sth down in black and white

Theme: COMMUNICATION - WRITTEN

to write down the terms of an agreement; to draw up a written contract; to put the details of something down on paper. (Refers to black ink and white paper.)
• We agree on all the major points. Now, let's put it down in black and white.
• I think I understand what you are talking about, but we need to put it down in black and white.

give sb a shellacking

Idiom(s): give sb a shellacking

Theme: FIGHTING

to beat someone.
• My dad gave me a shellacking when I broke his fishing rod.
• If you do that again, I will give you a shellacking.

give sb a black eye

Idiom(s): give sb a black eye

Theme: HARM

to harm the character or reputation of someone.
• The constant complaining gave the whole group a black eye.
• His behavior gave him a black eye with the manager.

give a shellacking

Idiom(s): give sb or sth a shellacking

Theme: OVERCOME

to beat someone (in a contest) decisively.
• The other team gave us a shellacking.
• The Bears gave the Packers a shellacking.

get a shellacking

Idiom(s): get a shellacking AND take a shellacking

Theme: PUNISHMENT

to be beaten—as in sports. (Slang.)
• Our team played well, but got a shellacking anyway.
• I practiced my tennis game so I wouldn't take a shellacking in the tournament.

get a black eye

Idiom(s): get a black eye

Theme: HEALTH - INJURY

to get a bruise near the eye from being struck.
• I got a black eye from walking into a door.
• I have a black eye where John hit me.

black-and-blue

Idiom(s): black-and-blue

Theme: HARM

bruised; showing signs of having been physically harmed. (Fixed order.)
• The child was black-and-blue after having been struck.
• She was black-and-blue all over after falling out of the tree.

black sheep of the family

Idiom(s): black sheep of the family

Theme: PEOPLE - NEGATIVE

the worst member of the family.
• Mary is the black sheep of the family. She's always in trouble with the police.
• He keeps making a nuisance of himself. What do you expect from the black sheep of the family?

black as pitch

Idiom(s): (as) black as pitch

Theme: DARKNESS

very black; very dark.
• The night was as black as pitch.
• The rocks seemed black as pitch against the silver sand.

black as one is painted

Idiom(s): (as) black as one is painted

Theme: NEGATION

as evil as described. (Usually negative.)
• The landlord is not as black as he is painted. He seems quite generous.
• Young people are rarely black as they are painted in the media.

take a shellacking

Beyond the black stump

(AU) An Australian idiom idicating that even if you go as far as you can, the black stump is still a little further.

Black and blue

This means bruised, either physically or metaphorically.

Black as Newgate's knocker

(UK) If things are as black as Newgate's knocker, they are very bad. Newgate was an infamous prison in England, so its door knocker meant trouble.

Black hole

If there is a black hole in financial accounts, money has disappeared.

Blackball

If you vote against allowing someone to be a member of an organisation or group, you are blackballing him or her.

Cut someone some slack

To relax a rule or make an allowance, as in allowing someone more time to finish something.

Jet-black

To emphasise just how black something is, such as someone's hair, we can call it jet-black.

in a black mood

"Be careful what you say - she's in a black mood today."

black market

illegal trade: "You can change dollars for a much higher rate on the black market."

black economy

a part of the economy unregulated by the authorities: "He doesn't pay any taxes and thinks that the black economy will make him rich." (He's working on the black.)

More Idioms/Phrases

like a red rag to a bull red carpet treatment green-belt area green politics black market black economy give someone a black look on the black list blacklisted black spot white Christmas whitewash