black day
- noun
- Informal
:
Día Negro
- On black day, they enjoy bowls of jajangmyeon while reminiscing about their single status.
Examples
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After his breakup, he marked black day by eating jajangmyeon alone and reflecting on his relationship.
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A black, black day!
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Every April 14, many single people in South Korea gather to celebrate black day by eating jajangmyeon.
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning refers to a specific South Korean cultural observance (singles eating jajangmyeon on April 14) that cannot be deduced from the literal words 'black' and 'day'. A B1 learner who knows the constituents would not predict the singles' ritual or the noodle dish; the sense is culturally specific and therefore not compositional.
Etymology
Black day in Korea is a modern name for April 14 when single people eat black-bean noodles called jajangmyeon; the dark noodles (the color black) gave the day its name, and eating them became a way to mark 'being single'.
