Our blog posts about idioms are some of the most popular ones for our readers. Recently, we’ve posted two about idioms that use names for colours – the first one was Seeing red and green with envy, followed by Black sheep and white lies.
One of our readers commented on the second post: she wondered whether any of the expressions to do with the colours black and white were racist in origin. We replied, “Your instinct to examine the language is a good one, since there are so many words and phrases that have been used in the past which we now see are offensive. It’s also true that the words black and white can simply be used as names for colours, and they are widely used that way in many idioms. We don’t provide word origins on our website, but any words or phrases that are offensive have the label offensive. And we update the website frequently, so as the language changes, we also change the advice we give about using it.”
After that response, some people asked questions about other idioms that may be racist. Because we take very seriously our responsibility to help people use English accurately and effectively, we think it’s important to say more about this topic. You may want to look back at the Black sheep and white lies post because we will mention some of the idioms from that post here.
When colours in idioms refer to actual colours
From the earliest recorded literature, humans have associated colours with ideas. Not all colour associations are common to all cultures: for instance, after Queen Victoria wore a white wedding dress in the early 19th century, white became associated with bridal purity (=moral goodness) in many English-speaking countries. In those same countries, black is worn at funerals, and wearing red can be associated with not having good morals. But in many cultures in Asia, white is a colour for funerals, and red is a symbol of good luck.
Many idioms use a colour because the thing they refer to is that colour: someone with bruises is called black and blue because those are the colours that fresh bruises are. The idiom in the black, meaning to have money in your account, comes from the colour of ink: black ink was for positive balances in ledgers, and red ink for negative ones (so “in the red” means to be in debt). Because the colours black and white represent opposites, some idioms also use them to talk about contrasts. If you say something is “right there in black and white” you are talking about something that is clearly written, black ink on white paper, about which there can be no mistake.
When colours in idioms refer to ideas associated with those colours
However, English is the language of a culture that does often associate the colour white with things that are pure, with no dirt or no faults – with being “as white as snow.” And the culture also often associates the colour black with bad things, so there are many idiomatic expressions that use these positive and negative senses of the words white and black. (For example, white knight, someone who buys a company to save it, and black knight, someone who tries to take over a business when the owner doesn’t want to sell it.)
Since ancient times, many human cultures have associated day/light/white with perfection and goodness, and night/dark/black with danger and evil. That is not itself a racist thing. What is racist is taking this association of whiteness with purity and blackness with evil, and applying it to people – when people who happen to be paler see themselves as better than people who happen to be darker, and then use their power to treat darker people unfairly or cruelly.
The use of the words white and black to describe people’s skin (and yellow and red, which are offensive, and brown, which is often now used in a positive way to include Latinx people) developed independently from the use of colour words in idioms. But idioms that didn’t originally have anything to do with perceived race feel, to many people, as though they do – particularly the ones that associate a colour with either purity or evil. So it really doesn’t matter where an idiom came from: what matters is how it makes our fellow humans feel when they hear it. It is perfectly possible to find other words and phrases to express our ideas so that we avoid offending people. The language is rich enough.
Languages are living things. At Cambridge Dictionary, our job is to continue to describe English as it changes and to provide our users with the best guidance about how to use it. Our entries for the word racism and many words related to it are not wrong, but they could be better. So, as part of Cambridge University Press’s commitment to change, we are now working to update a number of entries – for example, to reflect the most recent scholarship about what the differences between racism, prejudice, bias, and stereotyping are. And this conversation about colour idioms has made us aware that we need to expand our usage notes to suggest alternatives to expressions that could be perceived to be offensive.
Paying attention to how language is used and experienced, and then updating the Cambridge Dictionary definitions and guidance, is not an activity that will ever be “done.” It is, and will continue to be, at the heart of what we do as the publishers of the world’s most popular online dictionary for learners of English.
Hoping that the whole mankind, no matter which country, what religion, and even what color, all live together peacefully, and just combat together against our common enemy–THE CORONAVIRUS!
Indeed
I dare say covid-19 is not worst predator, human being is the worst predator. Every evil, is the result of our behaviour and lack of humanitarism to one another. I hope It does not sound too rough, but just realistic.
I think that evil is not as useful a word as suffering
Although it does not cover the same meaning – if you let it be your focus i think it might change your word view.
Evil has close ties to morals and morals are culturally constructed at least to a higher degree then suffering is.
Suffering does not require a perpetrator or intent from anyone, but it can Certainly be an intentional result.
I think if you should devote your life to reducing something it is unnecessary suffering rather then evil. (suffering, like mistakes, are an unavoidable part of being alive).
Focusing too much of the intent of other, which might cause unnecessary resentment (due to assumptions or miss communications), does not sound like that way to go.
It’s a fresh debate over colours.The colors are not only physical identifiers but also have a significant meaning about race and identity as they are social constructions ..Since the past few days,in the context of ‘Black lives matter’ movement, the ‘Times’l newspaper capitalise the use of’ Black’ as an adjective. Yes the colours are loaded with different senses depending the culture.Thank you for sharing this rich resource with us.
Reminds me of the song – Ebony and Ivory, together in perfect harmony. Best la vie
Should read – Cest la vie
Guys, thank you so much for this article! I really appreciate that you tried to explain people that colours do not originally go with skin colour, but with other concepts appeared long before different races had even historic meetings.
The world goes so crazy and I am so sad when people say that chess is a racist thing (facepalm). They don’t know the history of the game, don’t know where it was originated, but call it racist just because white pieces move first. How about Go and Checkers or Backgammon?
I believe that racism is more about giving such meanings to the things and words that were neutral in the origin. I don’t want colours be banned in future just because someone sees racism in the names. The same as a rainbow does not always go with LGBT. It can be also just a rainbow and the sky after rain doesn’t tell you to support or be against LGBT.
I just want to refer you to this text from the article: “…what matters is how it makes our fellow humans feel when they hear it. It is perfectly possible to find other words and phrases to express our ideas so that we avoid offending people. The language is rich enough.”
Let’s just forge forward a world where our actions and words don’t marginalise other people. It really won’t take away anything from those of us that don’t live the socio-economic-political experiences of racialised communities.
Clearly there aren’t any group of people who are white and black. There are only pale and darker people, but it’s literally skin-deep.
I appreciate your services may God grant you more knowledge and life.Continue updating us.
I just “discovered “ this words dictionary. Excellent service for people trying to speak with an updated clarity in today’s concerns for racial equality
The efflux time unexpectedly change the meaning of words and phrases diametrically opposite over a century.
The word “condescending ‘ is an apt example. Invite the readers to read the meaning of condescending in
Chambers dictionary and today’s Cambridge dictionary and Merriam -Websters .
Read an interesting related article of NYTs, “Thnk you for “condescending” dated August,28,2018.
I think that the use of the words Black and White to talk about human beings is cruel , because in this case we’re still making the racism exist, by describing people by their skin’s colour. It’s time to discard racial hatred and to live together in this wonderful planet . All humans are equal.
Thank you very much for the interesting article. To be honest I have a notion that people have been playing a game trying to estimate every part of our life from a single prospective: if this or that can be considered as racism. I feel strongly about racism. I believe it’s extremely bad and cruel but I don’t think it’s wise to rewrite the past or do your best to find hints of racism everywhere.
I agree that it’s difficult to rewrite the past, but how about write of the past and decry it where it failed?
I do also believe that we should do our possible best to seek out racism in its hiding places and eradicate it, unless we prefer to keep the status quo.
I went to school in Guyana a country where there were are many races. I would have been slapped down if I had called someone black or brown . When i was called whitey tighty it was an insult thown out by loutish boys. I would never have dared describe my teachers as black or brown. Most of my class were mixed race anyway.. It was only when i came to the Uk that the issue of race came up because at the time there was still terrible racist politics in the USA and people in this country assumed that Guyana was a country of segregation .Oddly, one of the clever giirls I knew went to a very famous private school on a scolarship and her published writings are spoilt by an undercurrent of white hatred because she had taken on fashionable preducice.of the liberal elite.
really helping
enjoyig it!