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.

---

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

---

Etymology

Origin of boll weevil

An Americanism dating back to 1890–95

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

boll weevil

Dodson has seen his yields double since the program started and the eradication of the boll weevil has been fruitful for the state’s wider economy.

From Washington Post ● Oct. 7, 2022

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

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 20, 2022

The cotton boll weevil is considered a major pest because of the damage it does to cotton plants.

From Textbooks ● Sep. 6, 2018

A boll weevil monument in Enterprise pays tribute the agricultural pest that prompted the region’s shift from cotton to peanuts and other crops.

From Washington Times ● Jul. 11, 2018

And I said, “Can’t afford no air-conditioning. Them things eat current like a boll weevil on cotton.”

From "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett