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My Nan used to say "Black as Newgate's knocker" which is definitely outdated in the way she used it (to describe skin colour). I've used it to describe dirt or darkness before. Newgate was a notorious old London prison. I guess given that it closed in 1902 even my use is pretty outdated.
Then again, she also used to say someone "Had a lick of the tar brush" if their complexion suggested mixed race somewhere in their ancestry...
Her world consisted of dirty big black men or lovely coloured ladies. She seemed to believe all black men were savage Africans, whereas black women came from the Carribbean, were hardworking and made good cleaners.
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Life's hard you know, so strike a pose on a Cadillac
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