black box vs dingbat

black box

noun
  • A theoretical construct or device with known input and output characteristics but unknown method of operation. 

  • A flight recorder; the brightly colored cockpit voice recorders and flight data recorders in an aircraft designed to aid in determining the cause of an accident. 

  • A device used in phreaking that prevents the calling party from being billed for the call placed. 

  • A type of theater characterized by a lack of decoration or complex mechanisms. 

  • Any similar device on motor vehicles, such as rail event recorders and ship trip recorders. 

verb
  • To focus on the inputs and outputs without worrying about the internal complexity. 

dingbat

noun
  • A small device or gadget, the correct term for which is forgotten or unknown. 

  • Anything that can be thrown or swung with force against something else. 

  • An architectural style of apartment building, where the second storey overhangs an area for parking cars. 

  • A special ornamental typographical symbol, such as a bullet, an arrow, a pointing hand etc. 

  • A kind of word puzzle involving pictures or typography that hint at the solution. 

  • A silly, crazy or stupid person. 

How often have the words black box and dingbat occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )