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black dog

noun

Etymology

A personification, attested from 1826. Popularized by Winston Churchill, although it is not clear if he specifically referred to mental health.

Definitions

  1. Depression, melancholy.

    • A light seen suddenly in the storm, snow / Coming from all sides, like flakes / Of sleep, and myself / On the road to the dark barn, / Halfway there, a black dog near me
    • There's a black dog on my shoulder again / I'm playing with it but it's gone to my head
    • I can't breathe, feed the black dog / Refuse to breathe, refuse to fuck

  2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically

    Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see black, dog.

  3. A small village in Washford Pyne parish and Woolfardisworthy parish, Mid Devon district,…

    A small village in Washford Pyne parish and Woolfardisworthy parish, Mid Devon district, Devon, England (OS grid ref SS8009).

The neighborhood

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sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA