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

Example Sentences

By the 1970s, one-third of all pesticides applied in the United States were used to fight the boll weevil, according to the USDA.

From Washington Post

He also spent time in San Francisco, where he made a living drawing boll weevils for pesticide ads, before moving to New York.

From Washington Post

I pulled the board up, releasing boll weevils, pill bugs, and a small spider from their homes.

From Literature

So the migration is as much about work and the boll weevil as it is about this notion of opportunity.

From Los Angeles Times

He remembers when growing up that trucks carrying cotton across the bridge were inspected for boll weevils that could devastate crops.

From Washington Post