black gold
English edit
Etymology edit
(crude oil; coal; black pepper): From its black colour and high value.
Pronunciation edit
Audio (AU) (file)
Noun edit
- (informal, idiomatic) Raw petroleum; crude oil.
- 1983, James C. H. Shen, “Rejoining the Government”, in Robert Myers, editor, The U.S. & Free China: How the U.S. Sold Out Its Ally[1], Washington, D.C.: Acropolis Books Ltd., →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 29:
- With the black gold already gushing from his country's wells, the Iranian monarch did not show much interest in what the Republic of China had to offer in agricultural know-how, commerce, and cultural interflow.
- Black pepper, in the context of being a historically valuable spice.
- Black-coloured gold, variously produced by patination, deposition, oxidation, etc. and used in jewellery or in high-technology applications.
- Coal.
- 2022 April 20, Christian Wolmar, “Northumberland Line reopening is not the end of the journey”, in RAIL, number 955, page 46:
- They [the railways] are mostly remnants of a long-gone coal industry, laid out largely to bring the black gold from the mines to the waterways.
Synonyms edit
- See also Thesaurus:petroleum.
Translations edit
petroleum
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