black book
14
7.4
- noun
- /blæk bʊk/
:
lista negra
- A little black book containing the name of the client that beat up Bree Daniels.
- a little black book
- names in her black book
- get my black book
And then the black book where everybody else who did the unspeakable deeds was suppressed.
- And then the black book where everybody else who did the unspeakable deeds was suppressed.
Examples
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The politician's little black book contained names of journalists to avoid.
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I used to use my "little black book" from when I was in college to keep appointments, remind me of tasks to do, etc.
Blog text (21) -
You just made my little black book.
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Let me look in my little black book of hackers.
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You have come into my black book, Mads.
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That's going in my little black book.
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I've got a little black book in my desk at home.
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And just in case, I've deftly cataloged, numbered and cross-referenced each offence here in my little black book.
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She always kept a little black book of people who owed her favors.
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His little black book listed everyone he had fallen out with over the years.
Synonyms
18
5.1
A list of people or companies that others avoid working with
1
9.9
A list of people someone dislikes and avoids
Surface Forms
Morphology
The sense of a negative record is suggested by combining 'black' (negative/forbidden connotations) with 'book' (a record), so a learner who knows both words could plausibly infer it refers to a list of disfavoured people. However, the specific idiomatic usage and nuance (e.g. being 'in someone's black book') is not fully compositional and relies on conventional metaphorical extension, so it is only partially predictable despite cross-linguistic parallels like 'blacklist'/'lista negra'.
Etymology
The noun black book may come from a small black-covered book that shop owners, town leaders, or criminals used to write the names of people who caused trouble. If your name was in that hidden book, you were 'out of favor' or 'to be avoided', so today black book means a list of people who are 'out of favor' or should be avoided.