Black as the ace of spades

‘Black as the ace of spades’ is an intensifier that means ‘very black’, if indeed anything can logically be blacker than black. There is no question that the expression is most often used in the context of describing black people. A black dress, for example, would rarely be described as ‘black as the ace of spades’ but the expression can be used, without offence, in describing someone covered in dirt or mud. The expression dates from the late 19th century but its offensive racial connotations are further underlined because it is responsible for the spin-off ‘spade’, which has been slang for a black person since the early 20th century.