Meaning of the idiom black sheep. Meaning of the idiom black sheep Idioms in English black sheep

Translation:"black sheep", renegade, outsider

Synonyms: an ugly duckling, an underdog, a misfit, an oddball, a freak of nature

Examples:

I was always the black sheep of the family and always told that I was dumb, and I had a low IQ and did badly in school. (Francis Ford Coppola)

Within three months I had gone from being this black sheep of the town to suddenly becoming a pop star. (Alison Moyet)

I feel kind of like the black sheep in Congress, but here I am. (Sonny Bono)

I"m from a family of bankers and businessmen, and here I am, the artist, the black sheep. (Matthew Quick)

Origin:

The idiom “black sheep” appeared as a result of a rare genetic combination: in herds of sheep with white wool, lambs with black wool were sometimes born, in the genetic code of which a recessive gene appeared. Black wool was practically unsuitable for sale, because... did not lend itself to coloring, so it was unprofitable to keep black lambs. In England 18th century. The black color of the sheep was completely perceived as a devil’s mark. Perhaps this is why this expression initially had a more negative connotation than its Russian counterpart “white crow”. The most popular version of this idiom was “a black sheep of the family,” which emphasized the meaning that a “black sheep” is a person lost to the family and to society, casting a shadow on the family’s reputation with his anti-conformity; a person who often deliberately goes against norms and expectations, causing shame or embarrassment to others.

Interestingly, this idiom arose from a translator's error in one of the English versions of the Holy Scriptures. In the so-called Coverdale Bible, the first translation of the Bible by Miles Coverdale, in the first book of the Old Testament there is the following line:

‘All blacke shepe among the lambs’

Like modern copywriters and infobloggers, the authors of the first versions of the Bible copied each other's translations with minor changes. Initially, in the Book of Genesis, the shepherd Jacob asks his owner for all the black sheep to emphasize that he has not stolen a single white sheep, which ultimately brings him wealth, because... Lambs with a black color were born in the herd even to white sheep. Thus, black sheep were originally a symbol of honesty, but over time this meaning became distorted, and readers of later versions of the Bible were convinced that black sheep were driven out of the flock because of their worthlessness and uselessness. This was greatly facilitated by the American Puritans, who already in the 17th century, referring to the Bible, called “black sheep” drunkards, foul-mouthed people, libertines and liars.

At this time in Britain, on the contrary, it was believed that black sheep would bring good luck to the shepherd. “Baa, Baa, Black Sheep” is one of the oldest English nursery rhymes and certainly does not contain any reference to the satanic origins of the unfortunate black sheep:

Baa, baa, black sheep,
Have you any wool?
Yes sir, yes sir,
Three bags full.
One for the master,
One for the lady,
One for the little boy
Who lives down the lane.

Test yourself:

I was considered the black sheep of the family of well-off brokers when

my brother dropped out of college.
I decided to pursue a career as a stand-up comic.
my father publicly disowned me.

The correct answer to our test is option A.

Black Sheep

Everybody"s doing it so why the hell should I?

I"m a bad woman to keep,

I"m a black sheep,
I"m a black sheep.

I wasn't born a beauty queen but I'm okay with that,
Maybe, radio won't mind if I sing a little flat,
I wear my boots to bed, hang a cross up on the wall
To save me from a shallow grave that wants to take us all.

Everybody"s doing it so why the hell should I?
Everybody"s doing it so why the hell should I?

I"m a bad woman to keep,
Make me mad, I"m not here to please,
Paint me in a corner but my color comes back,
Once you go black, you never go back.
I"m a black sheep,
I"m a black sheep,
I"m a black sheep,
I"m a black sheep.

I got lots of jealous lovers that all wish they had me back,
Got a pistol for a mouth, my old mama gave me that,
Making my own road out of gravel and some wine,
And if I have to fall, then it won't be in your line.

I"m a bad woman to keep,
Make me mad, I"m not here to please,
Paint me in a corner but my color comes back,
Once you go black, you never go back.

Once you go black, you never go back,
Once you go black, you never go back,
Once you go black, you never go back.

Black sheep

Everyone is doing this, why the hell should I?

I'm the black sheep
I'm the black sheep.

I wasn't born a beauty queen, but that's okay with me
Maybe the radio will forget that I don’t sing very well,
I go to bed in my boots and hang a cross on the wall,
To escape the shallow grave that wants to swallow us all.

Everyone is doing this, why the hell should I?
Everyone is doing this, why the hell should I?

I'm not the kind of woman to hold on to
You make me angry, I'm not going to please you
You can paint me in the very corner, but my colors will still show through,
Once you've tasted the scab, you won't want the same anymore.
I'm the black sheep
I'm the black sheep
I'm the black sheep
I'm the black sheep.

I have a lot of jealous lovers who would like to have me back
I am ready to put my pistol in their mouths, my old mother gave it to me.
I make my own path out of gravel and wine
If I follow a line, it’s definitely not yours.

Having tasted the scab, you won’t want the same anymore,
Having tasted the scab, you won’t want the same anymore,
Once you've tasted the scab, you won't want the same anymore.

Black sheep

Alex started taking drugs at college, failed his exams and has been jobless for the last three years. He's certainly the black sheep of the Spencer family.

2 the black sheep

Books

Black Sheep, Georgette Heyer, Charming and wise in the ways of the world, Bath society-belle Miss Abigail Wendover has tried hard to detach her spirited niece Fanny from a plausible fortune-hunter. Her valiant efforts on… Category: Historical romance novels Publisher: Arrow Books, Buy for 946 RUR
The Black Sheep, McKenzie, A new psychological thriller from the author of`Close My Eyes, Trust In Me`and`Here We Lie`. Charlotte`s life changed a year ago when her husband suddenly died, but now evidence has come to… Category:

Family relationships are one of the most interesting and complex. There are many expressions that characterize family members, their behavior, and character.

Let's look at some idioms that are somehow related to family and family relationships.

The black sheep

This immediately brings to mind the Russian “black sheep”, but in English the black sheep does not carry a negative meaning. To be the black sheep- means to be different from everyone else, to be different, as a rule, from relatives. Therefore, it would be more correct to translate the black sheep as - white crow.

My younger brother is the black sheep. He is different from the rest of the family.

My younger brother is a black sheep. He is different from all members of our family.

To see eye to eye (lit. look eye to eye)

When can people look into each other's eyes? The British believe that when people completely agree with each other, they look at the situation with the same eyes, i.e. see eye to eye.

They split up because they didn't see eye to eye.

They got divorced because they didn’t completely see eye to eye (because they didn’t agree on their personalities).

To be not on speaking terms

The expression itself speaks for itself, namely: that someone don't talk to each other; declare a boycott.

The atmosphere is a bit tense right now as my two sisters aren’t on speaking terms.

Now there is a tense atmosphere in the family, because... the sisters don't talk to each other.

Get-together

The verb to get has many meanings, some of them are to receive, get, collect.

The idiom get-together itself means get together.

We’re having a family get-together to celebrate my dad’s 80th birthday.

Our whole family will gather to celebrate my grandfather’s 80th birthday.

To wear the trousers (lit. wear trousers)

Logically, initially only men could wear trousers, and from time immemorial the man in the family was the head, the breadwinner.

But in the modern world, even a woman can be the head of the family ; These are the ladies we are talking about, about “generals in skirts.”

My sister wears the trousers in that marriage! She makes the decisions and tells her husband what to do.

My sister is the leader in her marriage. She makes all the decisions and tells her husband what to do.

It runs in the family (lit. it runs/moves in the family)

That's what they say about what is passed down in a family from generation to generation , for example: green eyes or the birth of twins.

I only want one more child, but twins run in our family.

I would like another child, but twins (twins) are born in our family.

To have a skeleton in the cupboard (lit. have a skeleton in the closet)

This idiom completely coincides with the Russian expression and is used to describe some kind of family “skeletons”, i.e. secrets, mysteries, little-known and unpleasant things.

Most families have a skeleton in the cupboard. Something happened in the past that they would prefer to keep secret.

Most families have their secrets. Events from the past that I would not like to talk about (I would like to forget).

Own flesh and blood (lit. own (own) flesh and blood)

Of course, they call their blood-children, relatives’ children, siblings, their own flesh and blood, i.e. those who flesh from flesh and blood from blood.

She's your sister! How can you say that about your own flesh and blood?

She's your sister! How can you talk about your own flesh and blood like that?

Meaning of the idiom black sheep. Meaning of the idiom black sheep Idioms in English black sheep

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Books