Reference > Brewer’s Dictionary > Black in the Face.

 Black as a Newgate Knocker.Black is White. (See SWEAR.) 
CONTENTS · BIBLIOGRAPHIC RECORD
E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
 
Black in the Face.
 
Extremely angry. The face discoloured with passion or distress.   1
        “Mr. Winkle pulled … till he was black in the face.”—Dickens: Pickwick Papers.
        “He swore himself black in the face.”—Peter Pindar (Wolcott).
 


 Black as a Newgate Knocker.Black is White. (See SWEAR.) 

 
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