black monday
Preserved but no longer current.
Sense 1
The first Monday after the school-boys holidays, or breaking up, when they are to go to school, and produce or repeat the tasks set them.
Era: ca. 1811 (Georgian)
Sources & notes
Historical definition reproduced from Grose’s Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue (1811 edition, public domain; Project Gutenberg #5402, retrieved 2026-07-31). Reflects the attitudes of its era.
Sense 2
The Monday on which boys return to school after the holidays. Also a low term for the Monday on which an execution took place.
thứ hai khi các cậu bé trở lại trường học sau kỳ nghỉ
Machine-translated — suggest a fix
Era: ca. 1874 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Historical definition reproduced from Hotten’s The Slang Dictionary (1874, public domain; Project Gutenberg #42108, retrieved 2026-07-31). Reflects the attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “black monday” mean?
The first Monday after the school-boys holidays, or breaking up, when they are to go to school, and produce or repeat the tasks set them.
Is “black monday” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.