Black-eye


discoloration of the skin around the eye, resulting from a blow, bruise, etc.
a mark of shame, dishonor, etc.:
These slums are a black eye to our town.
damaged reputation:
Your behavior will give the family a black eye.
Historical Examples

Jacques Bonneval Anne Manning
The Crimson Tide Robert W. Chambers
The Eugenic Marriage, Volume IV. (of IV.) Grant Hague
Up From Slavery: An Autobiography Booker T. Washington
Lord Tony’s Wife Baroness Emmuska Orczy
A Week’s Tramp in Dickens-Land William R. Hughes

noun
bruising round the eye
n.

All in the Downs the fleet was moored,
The streamers waving in the wind,
When black-eyed Susan came aboard,
“Oh! where shall I my true love find?
Tell me, ye jovial sailors, tell me true,
If my sweet William sails among the crew?”

An eye surrounded with darkened areas of contusion; mouse, shiner (1600s+)
A bad reputation; an adverse and damaging public image: That story gave me a black eye (1880s+)

A mark of shame, a humiliating setback, as in That there are enough homeless folks to need another shelter is a black eye for the administration. This metaphor alludes to having discolored flesh around the eye resulting from a blow. The term is also used literally, as in The mugger not only took Bill’s wallet but gave him a black eye. [ Late 1800s ]

Read Also:

  • Black-eyed-pea

    cowpea. Historical Examples Antigua and the Antiguans, Volume II (of 2) Anonymous noun another name for cowpea (sense 2)

  • Black-eyed-susan

    any of a number of composite plants having daisylike flowers with a dark center disk and usually yellow ray flowers, especially Rudbeckia hirta: the state flower of Maryland. Historical Examples Seven O’Clock Stories Robert Gordon Anderson History of English Humour, Vol. 2 (of 2) Alfred Guy Kingan L’Estrange Seven O’Clock Stories Robert Gordon Anderson Seven […]

  • Blackface

    Theater. an entertainer, especially one in a minstrel show, made up in the role of a black. the makeup, as burnt cork, used in this role: They performed in blackface. Printing. a heavy-faced type. Contemporary Examples Why It’s Time to End Blackface, Finally Soraya Roberts October 30, 2013 How Richard Pryor Beat Bill Cosby and […]

  • Blackfoot

    a member of a North American tribe of Indians of Algonquian stock. the Algonquian language of the Blackfeet. of or relating to the Blackfeet. a town in SE Idaho. Contemporary Examples We Lost Soldiers in the Hunt for Bergdahl, a Guy Who Walked Off in the Dead of Night Nathan Bradley Bethea June 1, 2014 […]

  • Blackfellow

    a term used to refer to an Aborigine of Australia. Historical Examples The Book of the Bush George Dunderdale The Moving Finger Mary Gaunt Denis Dent Ernest W. Hornung Missing Friends Thorvald Weitemeyer Missing Friends Thorvald Weitemeyer Dot and the Kangaroo Ethel C. Pedley The Childerbridge Mystery Guy Boothby The Australian Explorers George Grimm Journal […]


Disclaimer: Black-eye definition / meaning should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional. All content on this website is for informational purposes only.