destroying angel

American  

noun

1. any of several deadly poisonous mushrooms of the genus Amanita, having a white cap and stem, white spores, and a conspicuous volva at the base of the stem.

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destroying angel British  

noun

1. a white slender very poisonous basidiomycetous toadstool, Amanita virosa, having a pronounced volva, frilled, shaggy stalk, and sickly smell

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Etymology

Origin of destroying angel

First recorded in 1905–10

Example Sentences

Norgren often accompanies Lightner on his gathering forays, steering him clear of Destroying Angel mushrooms and hemlocks and singling out oddities like an orange parasitic vine called dodder.

From New York Times • Oct. 18, 2010

Without a sound the Glow-worm fell backward to the cabin floor, as if touched by the finger of the Destroying Angel.

From Fate Knocks at the Door A Novel by Comfort, Will Levington

Man shudders at this oil of our life's lamp where he finds it shed: to him it is the red death-signature of the Destroying Angel.

From Translations from the German (Vol 3 of 3) Tales by Musaeus, Tieck, Richter by Carlyle, Thomas

He says of that glorious riot of horror, "The Destroying Angel," in "The Dynamiter," that it is "highly fantastic and putting a strain on our credulity."

From Varied Types by Chesterton, G. K. (Gilbert Keith)

The whole story of "The Dynamiter" is a kind of humorous nightmare, and even in that story "The Destroying Angel" is supposed to be an extravagant lie made up on the spur of the moment.

From Varied Types by Chesterton, G. K. (Gilbert Keith)