Black Watch
Preserved but no longer current.
Originally companies em- ployed about 1725 by the English government to watch the Islands of Scotland. They dressed in a "black" or dark tartan. They were enrolled in the regular army as the 42nd regiment under the Earl of Crawford, in 1737. Their tartan is still called 'The Black Watch Tartan," Trie regiment is now officially "The Royal Highlanders," but is still called "The Black Watch.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Black Watch” mean?
Originally companies em- ployed about 1725 by the English government to watch the Islands of Scotland. They dressed in a "black" or dark tartan. They were enrolled in the regular army as the 42nd regiment under the Earl of Crawford, in 1737. Their tartan is still called 'The Black Watch Tartan," Trie regiment is now officially "The Royal Highlanders," but is still called "The Black Watch.
Is “Black Watch” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.