bluebottle

American  

[bloo-bot-l] / ˈbluˌbɒt l /

noun

1. cornflower.

2. a composite plant, Centaurea cyanus, having narrow leaves and blue flower heads.

3. bluebottle fly.

4. Australian. Portuguese man-of-war.

---

bluebottle British  

/ ˈbluːˌbɒtəl /

noun

1. another name for the blowfly

2. any of various blue-flowered plants, esp the cornflower

3. an informal word for a policeman

4. an informal name for Portuguese man-of-war

---

Etymology

Origin of bluebottle

First recorded in 1545–55; blue + bottle ¹

Example Sentences

"It could also attract vermin into our houses as well as flies and bluebottles."

From BBC

An ugly bluebottle crept along his cheek before buzzing off.

From Literature

I brushed at a bluebottle buzzing at my head.

From Literature

My mother laughed at me one fateful beach day as she pulled a Pacific man o’ war jellyfish — known in Australia as a bluebottle — from my body as I screamed.

From New York Times

“Personally, I had always thought that a big, juicy, caught-in-the-web bluebottle was the finest dinner in the world—until I tasted this.”

From Literature