black dog
2
8.6
- noun
- /blæk dɔg/
- Literature
:
perro negro
- In folklore, the black dog is often seen as a harbinger of death, striking fear into the hearts of those who encounter it.
- a big black dog
- a little black dog
- a small black dog
Examples
-
Her destiny was a small black dog with desperate eyes, so she missed the significance at first.
Fiction book (2000) -
Rand huddled under the trees in the night, watching the heavy-shouldered black dog come nearer to his hiding place.
Fiction book (1991) -
The black dog would follow him for the rest of his life.
Blog text (6) -
"Then why'd you leave him lying there in the sand?" He pointed to the big black dog.
Fiction book (1990) -
A black dog with brown stockings limped away from a grove of trees, carrying something in its mouth.
Fiction book (2000) -
As Toby kneels down to tie his shoelace, a small black dog runs up to him.
Fiction book (1993) -
An enormous black dog snarled up at her, his lips drawn back to show large yellowed fangs.
Fiction book (1995) -
"I'm writing on a bench between two white pines in a park, in the company of a black dog, Sheba, a new phantom of security for me.
Fiction book (1993) -
Leaving the black dog behind the gate, Socrates walked toward the lot, leather heels slapping and gravel crackling in his wake.
Fiction book (2000) -
The old legend tells of a black dog that roams the moors, warning travelers of impending doom.
Antonyms
How Depressing
Surface Forms
Morphology
black + dog
The literal reading ('a dog that is black') is directly and transparently derivable from 'black' + 'dog', so a B1 learner would understand that sense. However, the folkloric/spectral sense and especially the metaphorical use for 'depression' are culturally specific and not predictable from the constituents alone, making the overall expression only partially transparent.
Etymology
Black dog comes from old stories about a large, ghostly black dog that followed or stayed with people at night. So, because this dark, heavy animal felt like an unwanted companion, people began to use black dog to mean 'depression' or deep sadness.