black art en · NOUN
Meanings
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(in-plural, often) A practice such as witchcraft, sorcery, necromancy, or black magic.
For even the enchantresses Circe and Medea could not, by their black arts, prevent the unfaithfulness of Odysseus and Jason.
1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page 175:In 1690s Salem, anyone was at mortal risk of being accused of practicing the black arts.
dabbling in the black arts
As a parish priest in England he had dabbled in the black arts, seduced a number of his congregation from their faith and finally celebrated the Black Mass.
1965, Attila Zohar, Kings Cross Black Magic, Sydney: Horwitz Publications, page 30:
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(broadly, figuratively) A process that is esoteric or difficult to master.
Operating a hand card punch was something of a black art.
Traincrew management has always been a bit of a black art, rather than a science. The present traincrew difficulties that beset the UK rail industry are neither new nor were they unforeseeable.
2022 November 16, Graham Eccles, “The Rest Day Working saga...”, in RAIL, number 970, page 32:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| black arts | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Synonyms
witchdom · wonderworking · spellcasting · dwimmercraft · thaumaturgy · diablerie · dwimmer · wandwork · conjuring · witchwork · spellwork · warlockry · bewitchery · dark art · witchcraft · charmwork · gypsycraft · spellcraft · magic · hexcraft · hexerei · enchantment · jugglery · goety · craft · mojo · whistness · dweomercraft · dark arts · dark art · sortilege · conjuration · wizardcraft · diablerie · witchery · black arts · druidcraft · wizardry · sorcery · black magic
Translations (10)
pl czarna magia (witchcraft, sorcery, black magic, etc.) · cmn 妖术 (witchcraft, sorcery, black magic, etc.) · la maleficium (witchcraft, sorcery, black magic, etc.) · el μαύρη μαγεία (witchcraft, sorcery, black magic, etc.) · ru чёрная ма́гия (witchcraft, sorcery, black magic, etc.) · nb svartekunst (witchcraft, sorcery, black magic, etc.) · cmn 魔法 (witchcraft, sorcery, black magic, etc.) · sv svartkonst (witchcraft, sorcery, black magic, etc.) · nn svartekunst (witchcraft, sorcery, black magic, etc.) · la veneficium (witchcraft, sorcery, black magic, etc.)