paint down

English

Verb

paint down (third-person singular simple present paints down, present participle painting down, simple past and past participle painted down)

1. (transitive) To apply blackface to (an actor).
   • 2015, Mollie Gregory, Stuntwomen: The Untold Hollywood Story, page 28:

     White actors in blackface were so common that even Shirley Temple was painted down in The Littlest Rebel (1935).

   • 2015, Kristen J. Warner, The Cultural Politics of Colorblind TV Casting, page 54:

     Producer reaffirms that this Section 14 prohibits the practice commonly referred to as 'painting down'. […] The protests were in opposition to the literal adoption of blackface within Tropic that ultimately disallowed the gainful employment of male African-American actors.