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black lead /,blæk 'led/ n [U] a black mineral substance:
GRAPHITE
black-leg /'blækleg/ n BrE derog someone who continues to
work when their fellow workers are on STRIKE; SCAB ➔
compare STRIKEBREAKER —blackleg v [I] -gg-
black-list /'blæk,lɪst/ n a list of people, groups, countries etc
who are disapproved of for some reason and are to be
avoided or punished in some way: The council kept a black-
list of people suspected, but not convicted of child abuse.
—blacklist v [T] blacklisted for non-payment of debts
black lung n [U] AmE a lung disease of people who work in
coal mines, caused by breathing in coal dust over a long
period of time ➔ compare SILICOSIS
black·ly /'blækli/ adv angrily or threateningly
black 'magic n [U] magic believed to be done with the help
of evil spirits and used for evil purposes ➔ compare WHITE
MAGIC
Black Magic trademark a popular type of chocolates sold in
the UK in a black box: He gave me a box of Black Magic.
black·mail /'blækmeɪl/ n [U] 1 the practice of obtaining
money or advantage by threatening to make known
unpleasant facts about a person or group ➔ compare HUSH
MONEY 2 the influencing of someone's actions by threats,
causing anxiety etc: He accused his mother of using emo-
tional blackmail to stop him leaving home. —blackmail v
[T(into)] Don't think you can blackmail me (into doing that).
—er n
Black Ma·ri·a /ˌblæk məˈriːə/ BrE || police wagon or
paddy wagon AmE — n infml a vehicle used by the police to
carry prisoners
black 'mark n a black mark against someone if there is a
black mark against you or against your name, someone such
as your employer or the police thinks you have done
something bad, and this makes them have a bad opinion of
you for a long time: Mo wasn't fired, but the incident left a
black mark against her name for the rest of her career.
black 'market n [S] the buying and selling of goods,
foreign money etc, when such trade is not legal: They
bought dollars on the black market. | black-market butter |
There's quite a big black market in foreign currency. ➔ com-
pare BLACK ECONOMY
black marketeer n a person who sells things on the black
market
Black 'Mass n [C;U] a ceremony performed by people who
pray to the Devil, parts of which are similar to the cere-
monies performed by Christians
Black 'Monday 1 Monday, 19 October 1987, the day on
which SHARE prices on the STOCK EXCHANGE suddenly fell by
a large amount, and many people lost a lot of
money 2 Monday, 28 October 1929, the day on which share
prices on the Stock Exchange suddenly fell by a large amount,
leading to the GREAT DEPRESSION of the 1930s
Black 'Muslim n a member of a group of black people who
believe in the religion of Islam and want a separate black
society
black·out /'blækaʊt/ n 1 a period of darkness ordered by
the government during wartime or caused by a failure of the
electric power supply 2 a loss of consciousness for a short
time: She had a blackout after the accident and couldn't
remember what had happened. 3 a sudden turning off of
stage lighting during a play 4 an intentional prevention of
the reporting of certain facts: The government imposed a
news blackout on all information about the accident at the
nuclear power station. ➔ see also BLACK OUT
Black 'Panthers, the also the Black 'Panther
Party a group of African Americans in the 1960s and 1970s
who supported the use of violence to get better treatment
for black people
black 'pepper n [U] PEPPER made from crushed seeds from
which the dark outer covering has not been removed
Black·pool /'blækpuːl/ a town on the northwest coast of
England, a popular place for people, especially WORKING-
CLASS people, to go for the day or for a holiday. Blackpool is
famous for its TOWER (the Blackpool Tower) and ILLUMINA-
TIONS (=attractive coloured lights). It also has an important
CONFERENCE centre where political parties often hold their
ANNUAL conferences.
black 'power n [U] (often cap.) (a political movement in favour
of) the belief that in any country black people should have a
share of political and ECONOMIC power in accordance with
the number of black people in that country
Black 'Prince, Edward the (1330–76) the oldest son of
King Edward III of England, who wore black ARMOUR in
battle
black 'pudding n [C;U] BrE a kind of thick dark-coloured
SAUSAGE made of animal blood and fat, and grain. It is
usually cut into SLICES and cooked in fat
**CULTURAL NOTE** Black pudding is connected in people's
minds with the north of England, where it is popular,
especially with WORKING-CLASS people.
Black 'Rod the title of one of the officials who takes part in
the ceremony for opening the British Parliament each year.
He wears special old-fashioned clothes, and his job is to go
to the House of Commons and tell its members to come to
the House of Lords so that they can hear the Queen's
speech.
Black 'Sash an organization of South African women that
was started in 1955 to protest against APARTHEID (=the system
in which black people had few political rights, and black
and white people had to live in different areas)
Black 'Sea, the a large sea that is surrounded by land, and
is between Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Russia, and
Georgia
black 'sheep n pl. black sheep someone who is thought by
other members of their group to be a failure or to have
brought shame on the group: the black sheep of the family
Black·shirt /'blækʃɜːt||-ʃɜːrt/ n a member of the Italian
Fascist Party before World War II, whose members wore black
shirts. They were also copied by the members of the British
Union of Fascists in the same period, led by Sir Oswald
MOSLEY.
black·smith /'blækˌsmɪθ/ also smith n a metalworker
who makes and repairs things made of iron, especially
horseshoes
'black spot n especially BrE 1 a part of a road where many
accidents have happened 2 any place or area of serious
trouble or difficulties: The city is one of Britain's worst
unemployment black spots.
black·strap mo·las·ses /ˌblækstræp məˈlæsɪs/ n [U] AmE
a very dark MOLASSES (thick liquid produced from sugar
plants) from which most of the sugar has been removed
black·'tie adj (of parties and other social occasions) at which
people wear EVENING DRESS (a DINNER JACKET and a black
BOW TIE for men): a black-tie dinner-dance ➔ compare WHITE-
TIE; see picture at EVENING DRESS
black·top /'blæktɒp||-tɑːp/ n AmE 1 [U] the black substance
used to cover roads, car parks, playgrounds etc; TAR-
MAC 2 [the] the area covered by this substance: The children
were playing kickball on the blacktop.
Black 'Watch, the an unofficial name for the Royal
Highland Regiment, a large group of soldiers that are part of
the British Army and are based in Scotland. They wear a KILT
as part of their uniform, made of material with a dark blue
and green pattern, called the Black Watch tartan.
black·wa·ter fe·ver /ˌblækwɔːtə 'fiːvə||-wɔːtər, -wɑː-/
n [U] a very severe form of the disease MALARIA especially in
W Africa
black 'widow n a very poisonous type of SPIDER
blad·der /'blædə/ n 1 a bag of skin inside the body of a
person or animal, in which waste liquid collects before it is
passed out 2 a bag of skin, leather, or rubber (such as the
rubber bag inside a football) which can be filled with air or
liquid
blade /bleɪd/ n 1 the flat cutting part of a knife, sword etc:
The blade needs sharpening. | a packet of razor blades 2 the
flat wide part of an OAR, a PROPELLER, a BAT etc 3 a long flat
leaf of grass or a grasslike plant: a blade of wheat 4 old-fash an
amusing irresponsible man ➔ see also SHOULDER BLADE