meaning of "dark"

[pinkie9]

When an American woman describes an American man as "dark, handsome, and smart...", what does the "dark" mean? Tanned skin, being mysterious, or something else?

Whether the man being described is Caucasian or not is unknown.

 

[Gnome]

I'm not a teacher. I've heard this idiom express a tanned person most of the times, but I guess it could also mean that the person is mysterious. It all depends on the context. But most commonly, it means that the person is tanned.

 

[bhaisahab]

I'd say that it probably means dark haired.
See here: Urban Dictionary: tall dark and handsome

 

[Coolfootluke]

I am not a teacher.

It means he has dark hair.

 

[SoothingDave]

Dark-haired for sure. But I think it means an element of mystery as well.

 

[pinkie9]

Thank you very much for your quick reply, everyone! :-D

 

[pinkie9]

Hmm...Dark hair or skin color (not tanned, originally dark)? Maybe both?

 

[mykwyner]

I agree that dark, in this case, refers to color, but the sense I get is robust and healthy (maybe tanned from outdoor activity), as opposed to pale, anemic and sickly. Not necessarily ethnically dark-skinned.

 

[petit_minou]

I believe that "dark" here refers to skin color. This sounds very much like, "tall, dark, and handsome." Men with darker skin are seen as being more attractive to women. There is a sense of the latin lover here. This may harken back to the very popular early movie star, Valentino.

I would agree with Gillnetter. "Dark" implies both hair colour, skin colour, and even some mystery (a "dark" word). A blonde and/or pale male would never be described in this manner. A combination of both is required.

 

[BobK]

I believe that "dark" here refers to skin color. This sounds very much like, "tall, dark, and handsome." Men with darker skin are seen as being more attractive to women. There is a sense of the latin lover here. This may harken back to the very popular early movie star, Valentino.

Maybe so, in Am Eng. In the UK it would refer to hair-colour. To evoke a darker, southern-European sort of skin colour, the word to use would be 'swarthy'.

b

PS The link with the German schwarz is obvious. The pronunciation is /'swɔ:ði:/
PPS But by implication 'dark' can refer to skin colour as well. The odds are that a swarthy person will have dark hair.

 

[Coolfootluke]

Maybe so, in Am Eng. In the UK it would refer to hair-colour. To evoke a darker, southern-European sort of skin colour, the word to use would be 'swarthy'.

b

PS The link with the German schwarz is obvious. The pronunciation is /'swɔ:ði:/
PPS But by implication 'dark' can refer to skin colour as well. The odds are that a swarthy person will have dark hair.

I am not a teacher.

I don't think it's a US/UK difference, I think it's that we've all forgotten that meaning of "dark" over the years since the expression "tall, dark and handsome" came into vogue. The expression has drifted from the original meaning (having black hair) to include the swarthy man, who has been more and more included in every way over the same time period (and whom Elizabeth Bennet probably would have disdained). But the pinkie9 should be aware that many of us do think we know what it really means.