Black, Cilla                                                                 128
Black, Cil-la /'sɪlə/ (1943–) a British entertainer from Liver-
pool. She was a successful POP SINGER in the 1960s, and was
the PRESENTER of a popular television show called Blind
Date from 1985 until 2003.
Black, Conrad (1940–) a BUSINESSMAN originally from
Canada. He was the head of a company which owns more
than 500 newspapers in various countries, including the
Daily Telegraph in Britain and the Chicago Sun-Times in the
US. Lord Black RESIGNed as head of his company in 2003
when it was claimed that he and others had received more
than $32 million in secret payments. His official title is Lord
Black of Crossharbour.
Black, Jack (1969–) a US COMEDY actor and musician whose
films include High Fidelity and School of Rock. Black is known
for singing or playing GUITAR in several of his films.
Black, Roger (1966–) a British ATHLETE who won many
races, and who was second in the men's 400 metres running
race in the 1996 Olympic Games. He now works as a
television sports COMMENTATOR (=someone who describes
events as they are happening).
Black•ad•der /'blækædə/ a British television COMEDY pro-
gramme. There were four series of the programme, each of
which took place during a different period of British history.
The main character is Edmund Blackadder, acted by Rowan
Atkinson, and in each series, Blackadder is a DESCENDANT of
the Blackadder in the previous series, but at a lower position
in society. In the first series he is a prince, but in the fourth
series he is just an army CAPTAIN. He always has an assistant
called Baldrick, who is very dirty and seems to be very stupid.
Black 'Africa the part of Africa below the SAHARA Desert,
where most of the people are black
black•a•moor /'blækəmɔː/ n old use or humor, derog a black
person, especially a man
black and 'blue adj (having the skin) darkly discoloured as
the result of being hit, especially repeatedly; bruised (BRUISE):
After the fight, he was black and blue all over.
Black and 'Tans, the [P] a British military force that was
active in Ireland from 1918 to 1920, opposing the people
who were fighting for independence. They were known for
the cruel and violent way in which they did their work.
black and 'white n [U] 1 the showing of pictures in black,
white, and grey, without additional colours: an old film in
black and white | a black-and-white television 2 usually derog a
too simple way of explaining events, in which people or
things are regarded as either completely good or completely
bad: She sees the situation very much in black and white
terms, but in fact it's much more complicated than that. 3 in
black and white in writing: I want this agreement in black
and white.
black 'art also black arts pl. — n [the] BLACK MAGIC
black•ball /'blækbɔːl/ v [T] to vote against (a person who
wants to join a club)
Black 'Beauty the name of the horse that is the main
character in the children's book Black Beauty (1877) by Anna
Sewell, which has been made into films and television
programmes
'black_belt n (a person who holds) a high rank in the practice
of certain types of Eastern self-defence, especially JUDO and
KARATE ➔ compare DAN
black•ber•ry /'blækbəri–beri/ n the black or purple berry of
a type of BRAMBLE: blackberry jam ➔ see picture at BERRY
—ing n [U] to go blackberrying (=picking blackberries)
BlackBerry trademark a piece of WIRELESS (=using electronic
signals not wires) electronic equipment that you can hold in
your hand. You can use it not only as a PDA (=small
computer that you use to store information such as tele-
phone numbers, addresses, and appointments) and as a
MOBILE PHONE, but also to send and receive emails and
TEXT MESSAGES, and to look at the Internet.
black•bird /'blækbɜːd–bɜːrd/ n a common European and
American bird of which the male is completely black
black•board /'blækbɔːd–bɔːrd/ also chalkboard AmE — n
a dark smooth surface (usually black or green) used espe-
cially in schools for writing or drawing on, usually with
chalk ➔ compare WHITEBOARD
black 'box n a FLIGHT RECORDER
black 'comedy n [C;U] (an amusing play, story etc based on
BLACK HUMOUR
'Black Country, the an industrial area in the West Mid-
lands of England
black 'cow also root beer float n AmE old-fash a drink made
with ice cream and ROOT BEER: Two black cows, please.
black•cur•rant /blæk'kʌrənt–kɜːrn–/ n a European gar-
den plant with small round blue-black berries: blackcurrant
jelly
Black 'Death, the the illness (probably BUBONIC PLAGUE)
that killed large numbers of people in Europe and Asia in the
14th century. In Britain the Black Death is connected with
men going round the streets to collect the dead bodies who
called out 'Bring out your dead!' ➔ see picture on page A47
black e'conomy n [the] business activity that is carried out
unofficially, especially in order to avoid taxation: the recent
growth in the black economy ➔ compare BLACK MARKET
black•en /'blækən/ v [I;T] to make or become black or dark:
The sky blackened as the rainclouds approached. | The smoke
had blackened the white walls of the kitchen. | (fig.) false
accusations that blackened her good name
black 'English n [U] the variety of English spoken by some
African-American people in the US
black 'eye n darkness of the skin round the eye as a result of
being hit: If he says that again I'll give him a black eye.
black-eyed 'pea also cowpea AmE also black-eyed
bean BrE — n (a plant which produces) a small bean with a
black spot on it
black•face /'blækfeɪs/ n [U] a colouring of a white person's
face so that they look black, used formerly by some entertain-
ers, especially in VAUDEVILLE: Al Jolson used to appear in
blackface when he sang 'Mammy'.
Black•foot /'blækfʊt/ n 1 the Blackfoot a Native American
tribe whose members live mainly in Montana and Alberta
and are known for their horses 2 a member of this tribe ➔
see Cultural Note at NATIVE AMERICAN
Black 'Forest, the an area of southwest Germany where
there is a very large forest, which is a popular place for
tourists
Black Forest 'Gateau BrE || Black Forest 'Cake AmE
— n [C;U] a cake made with chocolate, cherries (CHERRY), and
cream
black 'gold n [U] infml oil, called this because if you find it, it
can make you rich
black•guard /'blægɑːd, –dəl–ərd, –ɑːrd/ n old use or humor
a man of completely dishonourable character; SCOUNDREL: You
blackguard!
black•head /'blækhed/ n a small spot on the skin with a
black centre
Black 'Hills, the a group of hills in South Dakota in the US,
one of which is Mount RUSHMORE
black 'hole n 1 an area in space, far away from the Earth,
that pulls everything into it, including light 2 infml some-
thing that seems to use up all your money: That old car of
hers is a real black hole.
Black Hole of Cal'cutta, the a small room used as a
prison in Calcutta, India. In 1756, 146 British prisoners were
put into it, and most of them died in one night. People
sometimes say that a small very crowded room or dark place
is 'like the Black Hole of Calcutta'.
black 'humour n [U] humour dealing with the unpleasant
side of human life ➔ see also BLACK COMEDY
black 'ice n [U] hard slippery ice that does not appear
different from the surface of the road it covers: Black ice
made the roads extremely dangerous.
black•ing /'blækɪŋ/ n [U] a substance, such as a very thick
liquid or polish, that is put on an object to make it black
black•ish /'blækɪ/ adj slightly black
black•jack /'blækdʒæk/ n 1 [U] also pontoon BrE || twenty-
one AmE — a card game, usually played for money 2 [C] AmE
for COSH 3 [C] AmE for TRUNCHEON
Black 'Lace one of a British series of romantic novels,
written mainly for women, which contain a lot of sexual
detail ➔ compare MILLS AND BOON