Still, you could almost see the black mark being registered against the name of the man who had asked the question.

On a personal level, this could mean a black mark in his service record.

"I don't think one more black mark will make much difference."

But there was a black mark somewhere in the red.

Another black mark was put up against my name when I declined the offer.

That he had his own flat was another black mark against him.

The others were free to work at other homes with no black mark against their names.

The mission would be a black mark on his record.

There would be a black mark on this season though.

It is a black mark for the nation's paper of record.