black humour
/ˌblak ˈhjuːmə/(US black humor)
noun
1 Medicine. The humour black bile; an unnatural, disease-causing humour derived from or resembling this; now historical and rare. Later also (in extended use): a depressed, angry, or sullen mood.
2Comedy, satire, etc., that presents tragic, distressing, or morbid situations in humorous terms; humour that is ironic, cynical, or dry; gallows humour.
Origin
Late Middle English; earliest use found in John Trevisa (c1342–?1402), translator. From black + humour. Compare atrabile, black bile, and the Latin and Greek parallels cited at those entries. Compare Italian (now hist.) umore nero black bile.
- proenkephalin
- proenzyme
- proepimeron
- proepisternum
- proerythroblast
- proestrous
- proestrum
- pro-estrus
- pro et con
- pro et contra
- pro-ethnic
- proette
- pro-European
- prof
- Prof.
- pro-family
- profanable
- take a dive
- take advantage of
- take advantage of (or take advice etc.)
- take a fancy to
- take a flyer
- take after
- take against
- take a hammering