black as night/pitch/the ace of spades

(as) black as night

Completely black; totally without light or color. The basement gives me the creeps, it's as black as night down there! A: "I can't believe that Grandma's hair used to be black as night." B: "Well, sure—you've only ever known her with gray hair." My hands were black as night after working on that filthy engine all day.

See also: black, night

(as) black as pitch

Completely black; totally without light or color. The basement gives me the creeps, it's as black as pitch down there! A: "I can't believe that Grandma's hair used to be black as pitch." B: "Well, sure—you've only ever known her with gray hair." My hands were black as pitch after working on that filthy engine all day.

See also: black, pitch

(as) black as the ace of spades

Completely black; totally without light or color. ("Spades" is a black suit in a deck of cards.) Potentially offensive, due to the history of "spade" as a derogatory slang term for a black person. The basement gives me the creeps, it's as black as the ace of spades down there! Is this meatloaf supposed to be black as the ace of spades? How long did you cook it for?

See also: ace, black, of, spade

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

black as night/pitch/the ace of spades

Very dark indeed. To these overused similes one can add ink (Spenser, Shakespeare), the crow or raven (Petronius, Chaucer), soot (John Ray’s proverbs, 1678), ebony (Shakespeare), and coal (Chaucer). The comparison to night (and also midnight) was more common in the nineteenth century, although Milton also used it (Paradise Lost), whereas black as pitch dates from Homer’s time (Iliad).

See also: ace, black, night, of, pitch, spade

The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer