man in black

plural men in black

1. informalhobbiesThe referee.
2. human sciencesA covert government operative, wearing a black suit and black aviator sunglasses, believed by conspiracy theorists to cover up UFO incidents.

   Often they arrive at the scene of a UFO landing before those involves have had a chance to tell their story to the authorities, indicating that these Men-in-Black can read – as well as CONTROL – minds.

   1991 March 26, John A. Keel, “Who are the UFO silencers?”, in Weekly World News, volume 12, number 25, page 8

   3 more examples

   Ever since the cessation of activity by Albert Bender in 1954, and followed closely by a few others, whose disappear[a]nce though less spectacular, from this field of work, caused a stir among the then active workers; the words he used in reference to his case "that he had been visited by three men in black, who demanded that he cease his investigations" left many to conjecture as to who they were, and what was their reason and who they represented.

   1958, The Australian Saucer Record, volume 4, number 4, page 1

   In many UFO sightings in which evidence of the sighting is claimed to exist, government "men in black" are reported to appear at the witnesses' doors demanding the evidence and threatening witnesses in the event they divulge any information regarding their sighting.

   1995, James L. Thompson, Alien encounters: the deception menace, Cedar Fort, page 52

   Stories of “men-in-black,” who confront those who have witnessed a UFO with the intention of persuading them to keep their knowledge of space creatures a secret, are also amenable to folkloristic analysis.

   1995, John A. Saliba, “UFO Contactee Phenomena from a Sociopsychological Perspective: A Review”, in The Gods have landed: new religions from other worlds, SUNY Press, page 218

1. The country musician Johnny Cash.

   The Man In Black was long and lean / Hit the Billboard charts with a Teenage Queen / Had a television show, the best we'd seen / That chick-a-boom rock really made a splash / Missing ol' Johnny Cash

   2015, “Missing Ol’ Johnny Cash”, performed by Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard