Dictionary

paint down en · VERB

Meanings

1. (transitive) To apply blackface to (an actor).
   • White actors in blackface were so common that even Shirley Temple was painted down in The Littlest Rebel (1935). 2015, Mollie Gregory, Stuntwomen: The Untold Hollywood Story, page 28:
   • Producer reaffirms that this Section 14 prohibits the practice commonly referred to as 'painting down'. […] The protests were in opposition to the literal adoption of blackface within Tropic that ultimately disallowed the gainful employment of male African-American actors. 2015, Kristen J. Warner, The Cultural Politics of Colorblind TV Casting, page 54:
2. (transitive) To coat with a substance through painting.
   • Paint it down in resin.

Forms