Idiom
Black sheep
The black sheep of a family or group is the member seen as different, troublesome or an embarrassment to the others.
How people use it
The usual pattern is the black sheep of the family, though people also talk about the black sheep of a team, class or company. It can be a real criticism, but people often use it with humor or even pride about themselves (I was always the black sheep, the only artist in a family of accountants). The phrase is about choices and behavior, not looks. Use it with care about other people, since it can sound like a harsh judgment.
Also said: the black sheep of the family.
Examples
- Sam calls himself the black sheep of the family because he became a musician instead of a doctor.
- Our old printer is the black sheep of the office, always jamming when everything else works fine.
- Every club seems to have one black sheep who questions every rule.
Where it comes from
In a flock of white sheep, a lamb is occasionally born with black wool. Farmers valued it less, because dark wool could not be dyed other colors, and it stood out from the rest of the flock. That made the black sheep a natural symbol for the odd one out. An old proverb says there is a black sheep in every flock, and the family sense was well established in English by the 1700s.
Check yourself
1. If Ana says she is the black sheep of her family, what does she mean?
Answer: She is different from the rest and does not fit their expectations. A black sheep is the member who stands out from the group, often in a way others disapprove of.
2. Which sentence uses the idiom correctly?
Answer: Leo was the black sheep of the family, the only one who skipped college to start a band.. Black sheep describes someone who goes a different way from the family. The farmer sentence is literal, and a cheering family does not fit.
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