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painted

   Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Medical, Legal, Acronyms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.06 sec.
*black as one is painted
as evil as described. (Usually negative. *Also: as ~.) The landlord is not as black as he is painted. He seems quite generous to me. Young people are rarely black as they are painted in the media.
See also: black, one

devil is not so black as he is painted

Prov. No one is as bad as people say he is. (Implies that people are saying too many bad things about someone.) I can't believe that actress is as coldhearted as the gossip columns say she is. The devil is not so black as he is painted.
See also: black, devil

not be as black as you are/it is painted
if people or situations are not as black as they are painted, they are not as bad as people say they are I've met him a few times. He's not as black as he's painted.
See also: black


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