wash a blackamoor white
wash a blackamoor white verb: to labour in vain, especially so as to present something as better than it really is; to whitewash.
Verb
wash a blackamoor white (third-person singular simple present washes a blackamoor white, present participle washing a blackamoor white, simple past and past participle washed a blackamoor white)
- To labour in vain, especially so as to present something as better than it really is; to whitewash.
- It is not my Intention to put myself in a Perspiration concerning any of the Hieroglyphic Emblems, or Monstrosities of the Egyptians, for it is all Labour in vain, or washing a Blackamoor white.1778, John van Rymsdyk, Andreas van Rymsdyk, Museum Britannicum […], page 33
- And universally, all Endeavours to vindicate a bad Cause, are but making it the worse. The Moral in my Last Paper was intended to caution you against attempting to wash the Blackamoor white: but you are resolved to struggle.1786 November 29, “Invisibilis”, “To the Captain”, in Bostonian Scintillations; or, A War of Words […], published 1787, page 30
- Synonyms:
- wash a negro white, wash a nigger white
Synonyms of wash a blackamoor white
- wash a negro white
- wash a nigger white
Forms of wash a blackamoor white
| third-person singular present | washes a blackamoor white |
|---|---|
| present participle | washing a blackamoor white |
| past participle | washed a blackamoor white |
| past | washed a blackamoor white |
| alternative form | wash the blackamoor white |
| alternative form | wash blackamoors white |
Questions about wash a blackamoor white
- What does wash a blackamoor white mean?
- Wash a blackamoor white means to labour in vain, especially so as to present something as better than it really is; to whitewash.
- What part of speech is wash a blackamoor white?
- Wash a blackamoor white is a verb.
- What is the past tense of wash a blackamoor white?
- The past tense of wash a blackamoor white is washed a blackamoor white.
Words near wash a blackamoor white in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: wash a blackamoor white (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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