''Pitch-dark''. What doe it mean?

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WesternAmerican  #380305  Sat, 16 Jun 07 08:43 AM
I'm currently reading 'Along Came A Spider', a book by James Patterson.
He has started his first chapter by writing ''it was pitch-dark...the ground was soggy and muddy''.
Soggy=full of moisture
Muddy=full of mud

But what does pitch dark actually mean?
  
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Mister Micawber  #380315  Sat, 16 Jun 07 09:53 AM

Pitch dark = as dark as pitch (a black sticky petroleum product used in construction) = very dark.

  
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Pucca  #380367  Sat, 16 Jun 07 03:05 PM
Hello WesternAmerican and Mister MicawberSmile [:)],

Would it be possible if you use "pitch-dark" in a description?

- That girl has a pitch-dark hair.

It would emphasize her black hair, wouldn't it?

Thanks in advance!
  
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Yankee  #380377  Sat, 16 Jun 07 03:42 PM

To me, the usual expression is "pitch black".

It is usually used to describe a situation in which there isn't the slightest bit of light or illumination -- absolute darkness.
I would say you could also say that someone's hair is pitch-black.

  
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Pucca  #380379  Sat, 16 Jun 07 03:50 PM
Thanks for your answer, Yankee!Smile [:)]

What about someone's skin? Would it be offensive?
  
nona the brit  #380388  Sat, 16 Jun 07 04:01 PM

It means as black as black can be - not many people are that black.

I wuld avoid it with reference to someone's skin colour as you might cause offense.

  
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Pucca  #380393  Sat, 16 Jun 07 04:14 PM
Okay, thanks for your answer, Nona!Smile [:)]
  
WesternAmerican  #380403  Sat, 16 Jun 07 04:41 PM
Is it a noun or an adjective?
  
Yankee  #380406  Sat, 16 Jun 07 04:47 PM

Pitch-black is an adjective.

  
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