black sheep

1. A sheep with black fleece.
2. A member of a family or other group who is considered undesirable or disreputable.

The least reputable member of a group; a disgrace. For example, Uncle Fritz was the black sheep of the family; we always thought he emigrated to Argentina to avoid jail. This metaphor is based on the idea that black sheep were less valuable than white ones because it was more difficult to dye their wool different colors. Also, in the 16th century, their color was considered the devil's mark. By the 18th century the term was widely used as it is today, for the odd member of a group.

The nickname for Marine Attack Squadron 214, first commissioned in early 1942 at Ewa, Hawaii. Its mission is to provide close-air support, and conduct armed reconnaissance and limited air defense for Marine expeditionary forces. It was active in the Pacific theater in World War II and has seen action in every major conflict since.

See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.

‘We speak figuratively of the one black sheep that is the cause of sorrow in a family; but in its reality it is regarded by the Sussex shepherd as an omen of good luck to his flock’ (Folk-Lore Record 1 (1878), 8). A number of other nineteenth and twentieth century references, from Somerset, Kent, and Derbyshire, for example, agree with this assessment of the black sheep, but others say the opposite. ‘It was unlucky for the first lamb dropped in lambing season to be black—black twins were more unlucky’ (Wiltshire, 1975: 56) and Charles Igglesden (c.1932: 105) writes the same for Shropshire, adding that the only way to avoid the bad luck is to cut their throats before they can ‘baa’.

Bibliography
The full bibliography list is available here.

• Opie and Tatem, 1989: 29

For other uses, see Black Sheep (disambiguation).

Grazing black sheep.

Black sheep is a derogatory colloquialism in the English language meaning an outsider or one who is different in a way which others disapprove of or find odd. This can be someone who has been shunned by others, or one who has chosen to be an outsider, due to actions and aims that separate them from the rest of the people or "flock". A typical example might be a family member who has chosen to follow a religion other than that of the rest of his family.

The term originated from the fact that the occasional black sheep will be born into a herd of white sheep. Black sheep were considered undesirable because their wool cannot be dyed, and there weren't enough to make black wool. White is the preferred color for wool as it is most easily dyed and thus easiest to market.

The phrase "white sheep" can be used to refer to someone who is the outcast of a group of criminals, e.g., one who is law abiding.

In psychology, a black sheep is the member of a rigidly triangulated family who holds the rest tightly together by being identified as the bad/sick/deviant one who causes all the family problems. In this situation, the rule enforcer in the family is charged with the job of controlling the black sheep from revealing the family secrets. The black sheep is seen as an outsider, but only because he is a teller of truth.

See also

• The Ugly Duckling

External links

• International Society of Blacksheep Genealogists

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