How black is thy English? – part 1

Warning - Discretionary Content:This article may contain material that is either inappropriate or offensive to some audiences

Black is the colour of darkness and of many things that go on under its cover. Ironically, its most appropriate definition is the most drab; black is defined as ‘reflecting no light’. But as we move beyond the more obvious definitions, we come to its darker, wickeder, sinister & more dangerous side.
In most of Europe and some other parts of the world, ‘black’ was often associated with the devil, and through that all things evil & wicked, as in black cats. The association of black with death probably occurred because of it being used a colour of mourning in ancient Rome and before that in Egypt.

But here we will only discuss the ‘blacks & whites’ of Black in terms of its contribution to the English language. Here are a few words, phrases and expressions that are influenced by the colour ‘black’.

Blackball - reject a candidate or proposal
In ancient Greece and Rome, voting was carried out in much the same manner as it is now, except that the ballot was actually a small ball that was placed in a box. A vote of approval was a red or white ball, while an opposing vote was given by using a black ball. If the number of black balls exceeded the other color, the proposal or member was blackballed and hence the term.
Of course the term ballot now signifies any type of voting system and blackball typifies any time of candidature rejection.

Black box - flight recorder
When an airplane crashes, it is sometimes difficult to figure out the exact reason for the crash and so investigators make use of a ‘black box’, or more appropriately two of them, the flight data recorder (FDR) and cockpit voice recorder (CVR). The FDR records the flight data while the CVR records conversations and other audible noises in the cockpit.
Interestingly, black boxes are not black at all, and are painted bright orange, so that they can be found easily at the site of crash.
So, how did the term, ‘black box’ originate? The term originated in the Royal Air Force during World War II. The first black boxes were radar bomb ‘sights’ (which helped pilots see through clouds). Later on, various electronic navigational equipments were included under the term and when civilian aircrafts started using flight recorders, they were named black boxes as well.
The original black boxes were indeed black in colour, but in case of a crash, it was not easy to locate them, hence they were coloured bright orange, however now they are all termed as ‘black boxes’ irrespective of the colour.
As for those of you who wonder as to why the entire plane is not made of the same material as the black boxes, the reason is that if they did, the plane would be so heavy that they would need a runway right from the point of departure till the point of arrival. This is because the black boxes are made of quarter inch thick stainless steel plates, while the rest of the plane is made of light material like aluminum and plastic.

Black Death - A 14th century plague that plagued Europe
In the early parts of the 14th century, a deadly plague swept over Europe. The primary carriers were black rats, but the plague was transferred onto humans by rat fleas. The plague caused complete chaos and decimated almost one-third of the European population.
The plague resulted in fever and a painful swelling of the lymph glands. It also caused red spots on the skin, which would then turn black and thus the name ‘Black Death’

Blackguard - a villain or a scoundrel
Blackguard were probably servants who worked in the kitchen or did other such dirty, menial work and were called so possibly because of the work or appearance. Soon the term was being applied to a variety of low-life people including servants, attendants, guards, torchbearers and even criminals & vagabonds. By the middle of the eighteenth century, it took on its modern meaning, that of a ‘scoundrel’, especially one who will abuse or bully.

Black hole - a region in space from which nothing can escape, not even light..
A ‘black hole’ is a region of space with so much concentrated mass in it that nothing, not even light, can escape its gravitational pull.
Interestingly they were called ‘frozen stars’ until an American theoretical physicist, John Wheeler, named them ‘Black holes’. The reason for the instant acceptance of the new name is obvious, the term ‘black hole’ conveys darkness, mystery and danger, whereas ‘frozen stars’ sounds more like the name of an ice cream.

We will continue with more ‘black’ English in part 2, meanwhile here are some interesting quotes on the colour black.

One must respect black. Nothing prostitutes it. It does not please the eye or awaken another sense. It is the agent of the minds even more than the beautiful color of the palette or prims.
- Odilon Redon

People can have the Model T in any colour - so long as it's black.
- Henry Ford

Black is real sensation, even if it is produced by entire absence of light. The sensation of black is distinctly different from the lack of all sensation.
- Hermann von Helmholz

I've been forty years discovering that the queen of all colours is black.
- Auguste Renoir