Blackheart Man

Jamaican Creole

Alternative forms

• blackheart man, Blackheart man

Etymology

Compound of black (“black”) +‎ heart (“heart”) +‎ man (“man”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈblak.hɑːt ˈman/
• Hyphenation: black‧heart‧man

Noun

Blackheart Man

1. a man from a Jamaican urban legend who kidnaps little children; bogeyman

   When time di pickney dem 'ear seh Blackheart Man deh near, dem tek off lakka rocket.

   As soon as the kids heard that the bogeyman was nearby, they ran like the wind.

   • [2009, Charles Price, Becoming Rasta: Origins of Rastafari Identity in Jamaica‎^[1] (in English), →ISBN, page 24:

     “There is also the mythical "Blackheart man," a shadowy and dangerous bearded figure believed to eat living human hearts and abduct children by enticing them with sweets. […] ”]

See also

• Rolling Calf

Further reading

• Richard Allsopp, editor (1996), Dictionary of Caribbean English Usage, Kingston, Jamaica: University of the West Indies Press, published 2003, →ISBN, page 105