Phrase guide

Harlem sunset

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

A fatal wound caused by a knife fight.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: US, rare

Qualifier: noir

Examples

  • 2006, Richard E. Sall, Straightjacket, p. 38, We had some mean turf wars with rival Latino and Italian gangs, and I've still got the scars to prove it: one under my left eye from some Romano's chain, and one just to the right of my right shoulder blade from some bitch who tried to give me a Harlem sunset –yup, that can happen in Detroit, too.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Used in Raymond Chandler's Farewell, My Lovely (1940), suggesting the red colour of a sunset.