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Gammerstang commented on the word black ox
(noun) - (1) "The black ox has trod on his foot," he has fallen into decay or adversity.
--Walter Skeat's Glossary of Tudor and Stuart Words, 1914
(2) Black oxen were sacrificed to the Roman gods of the Lower Regions. The c.1546 proverb, "the black ox never trod upon his foot," means he is not married. "The black ox hath trampled on him" is an equivalent of "He is henpecked."
--Albert Hyamson's Dictionary of English Phrases, 1922
(3) The black ox is said to tramp on one who has lost a near relation by death.
--John Jamieson's Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language, 1879
January 16, 2018