Black affronted

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Meaning

Deeply embarrassed, ashamed or humiliated, especially after public exposure or rebuke. Regional. Here 'black' intensifies the emotion; the phrase has no reference to race or physical colour. Regional use: Scots, Scottish English, and historically Ulster Scots.

Origin

In Scots, 'affronted' commonly means ashamed or humiliated, while 'black' can act as an intensifier. The Scottish National Dictionary documents 'black affrontit' in 1894 and 1901 and records related Ulster use. The phrase is ordinary inherited Scots formation; stories about factory colour-codes or racial imagery are unnecessary and unsupported.

Research Sources

  1. Affront, verb Dictionaries of the Scots Language
  2. Official Report, 18 May 2000 The Scottish Parliament

Variants

  • Black affrontit

Usage Examples

  • I was black affronted when the false announcement was read to the whole hall.
  • Her father looked black affrontit by the state of the borrowed cart.
  • The councillor was black affronted to discover he had praised the wrong village.

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