Black Pimpernel, noun phrase

Origin:
EnglishShow more black + English pimpernel someone elusive and much sought after, alluding to the Scarlet Pimpernel, the name given to Sir Percy Blakeney, a heroic character created by Baroness Orczy.
colloquial
A nickname given by news reporters to Nelson Mandela during his period in hiding in 1961.
1962 Guardian (U.K.) 9 Aug. 7The man who has become known as the ‘Black Pimpernel of South Africa’.
1989 Weekly Mail 13 Oct. 6In March 1961 he (sc. Nelson Mandela) went into hiding to defy his banning order, but emerged at the Pietermaritzburg All-in-Africa conference and was made honorary secretary of the All-in-National Council. Nicknamed the ‘Black Pimpernel’, he remained underground for the next 17 months.
1990 City Press 11 Feb. 6He and Sisulu travelled around the country secretly organising the strike and Mandela (nicknamed the Black Pimpernel) remained a fugitive for the next 17 months.
1990 T. Mathews et al. in Newsweek 19 Feb. 25He gave interviews from phone boxes to reporters, who started calling him the Black Pimpernel.
1993 H. Tyson Editors under Fire 10He could not know while he was the dashing, active ‘Black Pimpernel’ (‘They seek him here, they seek him there...’) that he was soon to become the world’s most famous prisoner.
A nickname given by news reporters to Nelson Mandela during his period in hiding in 1961.
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colloquial
black peril, noun phrasen. phr.Black Sash, noun phrasen. phr.
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