boll weevil


noun

a snout beetle, Anthonomus grandis, that attacks the bolls of cotton.
Informal. (especially in the U.S. Congress) a Southern Democrat with conservative views who often votes with the Republicans as part of a Southern or conservative power bloc.

Origin of boll weevil

An Americanism dating back to 1890–95

Words nearby boll weevil

Example sentences from the Web for boll weevil

  • The boll-weevil, like the legal and medical professions, thrives upon the follies of humanity.

  • They seemed to have the pip, or glanders, or boll-weevil, or something unpleasant.

    Perkins of Portland |Ellis Parker Butler
  • The boll-weevil is a beetle about a quarter of an inch in length.

    Checking the Waste |Mary Huston Gregory
  • The control of the boll-weevil is considered one of the most serious problems confronting the agricultural men of the country.

    Checking the Waste |Mary Huston Gregory

British Dictionary definitions for boll weevil

boll weevil

noun

a greyish weevil, Anthonomus grandis, of the southern US and Mexico, whose larvae live in and destroy cotton bolls See also weevil (def. 1)