First recorded in 1880–85; named after Balaklava
When the temperature dips well below zero, you might want to wear a balaclava, a warm knit hat that covers your entire face, leaving holes for your eyes and nose. You can also call a balaclava a "ski mask," and the ski slope is a place you're sure to see people wearing them, since a balaclava protects your face from icy winds and frigid temperatures. Grab a balaclava the next time you're headed out into the snow, and it will protect your cheeks from frost. Balaclava is named after a village (Balaklava) on the Crimean Peninsula where soldiers fighting in the Crimean War (1853–1856) wore knitted hats that covered their faces.
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The fifth series introduces Stephen Graham as John Corbett, aka "Balaclava Man", with Rochenda Sandall as his second-in-command.
From BBC • Mar. 22, 2019
There is no sense in wasting his time and the state’s money playing Lord Cardigan leading the Light Brigade against the Russians at Balaclava.
From Washington Times • Jul. 6, 2016
Supplies have now reached Cossack Bay, Balaclava, bringing much-needed relief to beleaguered British forces.
From Newsweek • Mar. 2, 2015
The two others in the video, Balaclava and Serafima, were never found.
From New York Times • Aug. 26, 2012
On the hill-tops, farther away from Balaclava, were erected some earthen redoubts which were armed by heavy ship-guns, and manned by Turks.
From The Young Dragoon Every Day Life of a Soldier by Drayson, A.W.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
