上海瀚星教育

关于黑色星期五这一叫法的起源，较普遍的一种认为看法是，由于这一天是感恩节（11月第四个星期四）后开业的第一天。再加上人们通常由此开始圣诞节大采购，很多商店都会顾客盈门从而有大额进帐。传统上商家会用不同颜色的墨水来记账：红色表示亏损即赤字；

反之黑色则为有盈利。

“When shops in the US recorded their accounting details by hand, they noted profits in black and losses in red. It is thought that many shops were "in the red" throughout most of the year but they later "went into the black" the day after Thanksgiving, when shoppers bought a significant amount of discounted merchandise.” 

-- the Telegraph

那么，黑色就一定象征好的寓意了吗？还真不一定

我们在生活中用过的带“黑”字的中文短语，英文也有对应。

black market即为黑市，blacklist就是指黑名单。

black sheep

英文释义为“a person who is different from the rest of their family or another group, and who is considered bad or embarrassing” ，用中文讲便是“害群之马”。

说到“黑”和“马”我们难免想到“黑马”，但它的英文对应绝不是“black horse”，而是“dark horse”，指在竞选或求职中不出名却在最后出乎意料取得胜利的候选人，有时也称为“dark horse candidate”。

black and white

当我们描述一种情况是“black and white”时，表达的意思为clear, obvious and easy to understand。例如：I'm really sure about some things. I think free education for all is a black and white issue.

此外，“in black and white” 的意思是白纸黑字，常用来形容某事被写下来作记录。I couldn't believe I had won the lottery, but when I checked my bank statement there it was in black and white: one million dollars!

black eye

英文释义为“an area of dark skin (called a bruise ), that can form around sb's eye when they receive a blow on it”，（被打成的）青肿眼眶。

直译时，我们可能会误解为“黑眼圈”，但它正确的英语表达是“dark circle”。

blackout

除了断电，还可以形容某人突然失去意识，眼前一黑。其名词的用法就是“have a blackout”，也可以更简单地说：She just blacked out.

blackmail

既可以当名词，也可以作动词。基本意思为“勒索”“敲诈”，带有胁迫之意。emotional/moral blackmail 意为情感上/道德上胁迫。用作动词时，可以和into搭配，blackmail sb. into doing sth. ≈ force sb.to do sth. (by threatening)。

pot calling kettle black

英文释义为 something you say that means people should not criticize someone else for a fault that they have themselves，比如：Elliott accused me of being selfish. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black!

对应的中文有时是“五十步笑百步”或“只许州官放火，不许百姓点灯”。你有什么更简洁的译法吗