boll weevil

American  

noun

1. a snout beetle, Anthonomus grandis, that attacks the bolls of cotton.

2. 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.

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boll weevil British  

noun

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

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Etymology

Origin of boll weevil

An Americanism dating back to 1890–95