Black ... bad, soot, coal, dead, tar
Symbolizes: evil, falsehood, error, grief, despair, death..
 

Some of the most common similes are : as black as a crow, a raven, a raven's, wing , ink, hell, death, the grave, your hat, thunder, a thunder cloud, night, ebony, coal, pitch, soot, tar ....

Black and blue - very badly bruised

Black sheep (of the family) -  a member of the family who has disgraced himself

A black dog for a white monkey - a fair exchange

To be on the black list is to be on a list of persons under suspicion or who have incurred the disapproval of the authorities.

black art - devilish or satanic practices

to look on the black side - to be pessimistic.

to blacken someone's character - to make someone appear worse than what he really is.

a blackleg - someone who continues to work during a strike.

a black comedy - a story or play in which the theme is sad or tragic but treated as comic.

the Black Country - the industrial Midlands of England

a black eye - an eye that is bruised and swollen as the result of a blow

the black market - illegal buying and selling of goods that have been rationed by the government.

to be in someone's black books - to have incurred the strong disapproval or enmity of someone.

the blackboard jungle - lawlessness and violence in the classroom.

a black-out  - 1) a sudden loss of consciousness.
                       2) concealing all source of light (in wartime)
                       3) Total loss of electric power in a district.

black looks - angry or resentful looks.

black ice - a layer of ice on the road which is invisible.

blackmail - "mail" here is the old English and Scottish word meaning rent, tax, or tribute.  Originally blackmail was paid by the border farmers to freebooters in return for protection or immunity from molestation. Hence payment extorted by intimidation or threat.

Black Maria - police van used for transporting prisoners

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