Liquorice-black???
1) I opened the door and saw Mum sitting up in bed beneath my favourite painting of the full moon turning a liquorice-black sea to mercury.

I would like to know what does "liquorice-black" mean. Dark green? Thanks.

2) I was surprised to hear his reading of the situation; touched by the caring in his voice as he told me. Rita had implied that Mum and Dad were snobs, that they'd looked down on the other side of the family.

I would like to know what does "they'd looked down on the other side of the family" mean. Thanks in advance.

Question

Liquorice-black???
1) I opened the door and saw Mum sitting up in bed beneath my favourite painting of the full moon turning a liquorice-black sea to mercury.

I would like to know what does "liquorice-black" mean. Dark green? Thanks.

2) I was surprised to hear his reading of the situation; touched by the caring in his voice as he told me. Rita had implied that Mum and Dad were snobs, that they'd looked down on the other side of the family.

I would like to know what does "they'd looked down on the other side of the family" mean. Thanks in advance.

Answer

Hello Kelly Xu

Licorice Candy,  in the USA,  commonly comes in a form that is colored Black.

Licorice comes in many flavors, but the term "licorice" has become the generic and common term for all the flavors.  Usually, it is in the form of a stick, and it is chewy  and "gummy," like Taffy or 
Jelly Beans

So, even if it is "Strawberry"  LICORICE,  people will call it Licorice 
 (pronounced liquor-ish),   even though  the word   Licorice is itself, only one of the flavors for this kind of candy.  All of it is referred to as  Licorice,  because I think, that flavor was the first used for that type of candy.

http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images;_ylt=A0LEVwxLcEJT7ToAF7ZXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTByYWptaDQyBHNlYwNzYwRjb2xvA2JmMQR2dGlkA0RGRDZfMQ--?_adv_prop=image&fr=mcafee&sz=all&va=licorice

Answer

So the Licorice is Black.

As for the expression,   "they looked DOWN ON"      it means that the people think  the 
"other side of the family" to be of inferior quality.

The expression  is often used this way.   "We LOOK  DOWN ON  that   kind of behavior.

It is also expressed like this.    "We   FROWN ON   that kind of behavior.

or....     "I look down on  that kind of people.

If we feel superior in some way, or think others show poor  behavior or a lack of character,  we might LOOK DOWN ON  Them and refer to them as having "no class".

.