black squirrel

noun

1. a fox squirrel or gray squirrel in that color phase in which the fur is black.

Word History and Origins

Origin of black squirrel¹

An Americanism dating back to 1595–1605

Example Sentences

Just two days before the Panamanian government announced a nationwide lockdown, a scruffy, black squirrel fell from a tree and into the river in front of their house.

From New York Times

“If somebody wants to study black squirrels in Canada or red squirrels in Korea, the same data is available to them,” Blaxter said.

From Washington Post

But already, they noted in a statement, it’s made its way over to the United Kingdom — probably through black squirrels from the United States that escaped from private zoos in the U.K.

From Washington Post

The first wild black squirrel was recorded in Woburn in 1912, and was believed to have escaped from a private zoo having been imported from the United States.

From BBC

In Britain, black squirrels were imported from North America and then escaped from private zoos.

From The Guardian