Idioms and Expressions: “There’s a black sheep in every family.”

The expression, “black sheep,” is commonly used to describe a member of a family who is a “disgrace,” or who does bad things or is a failure. If there is someone in your family who has been in trouble with the police or who gambles and loses all his or her money, you may hear someone say of that person: “He (or she) is the black sheep of that family.”

The color black, in the U.S. and in other western societies, usually represents things that are bad or evil, while the color white is usually used for good or pure things. As you probably know, in old movies, the “villain,” or the bad person who causes trouble is traditionally dressed in black, while the “hero,” or the good person who saves others from the villain is dressed in white.

The color black is used in entertainment in other ways. If someone describes a movie as a “black comedy,” you know that it is a funny movie, but one that has a serious or tragic side. People can be “blacklisted,” which marks them as an undesirable person and they are not, for example, hired for a job or allowed to come into a place of business.

The word “black” has been used a lot to describe bad or sad events in history. In 1929, for example, the stock market in the U.S. “crashed,” or declined to a very low level very quickly. That day is now known as “Black Tuesday.