black over Bill's mother's

9.9

A sign that dark clouds are coming and rain may fall, or a joke that things only seem bad

idiom

: se avecina tormenta

Look at those clouds—it's black over Bill's mother's; we'd better get inside.

Examples

Don't worry, it's not that serious; it's just black over Bill's mother's.
When the boss is in a bad mood, it feels black over Bill's mother's in the office.
Don't worry, it's not really black over Bill's mother's; things will improve soon.
It's black over Bill's mother's!
When I saw the dark clouds gathering, I thought, 'It's black over Bill's mother's—we might get caught in a storm.'
After hearing the latest news from work, I joked, 'It's black over Bill's mother's at the office, but I'm sure things will get better soon.'
As the meeting turned tense, I whispered to a colleague, 'It's black over Bill's mother's; let's stay positive.'

Antonyms

to clear up

172 2.3

To explain something so people understand it

to brighten

27 2.7

To make a place or thing look more cheerful by adding color

How Likely

pouring

1.3

to storm

16 1.0

black over Bill's mother's

9.9

rain cloud

4 1.0

cloudy

51 1.0

clear

866 1.0

Surface Forms

black over Bill's mother's main

Morphology

black + over + Bill's + mother's

The constituents 'black' (dark) + 'over' (above/over) give a fairly direct image of darkness gathering overhead, so a learner could plausibly infer the basic meaning 'dark clouds/impending rain.' However, the fixed jocular slot 'Bill's mother's' and the wry, evaluative use of the phrase are culturally specific and not fully predictable from the parts, so the expression requires some exposure to its idiomatic framing.

Etymology

Black over Bill's mother's may come from a picture of very dark clouds—black over—sitting only above one house—Bill's mother's. So the phrase is used to say that 'rain' or a short 'bad mood' is coming, or to joke that a problem is small and will pass.