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boll weevil

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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Origin of boll weevil

An Americanism dating back to 1890–95
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for boll weevil

Historical Examples of boll weevil

  • The boll-weevil is a beetle about a quarter of an inch in length.

    Checking the Waste

    Mary Huston Gregory

  • They seemed to have the pip, or glanders, or boll-weevil, or something unpleasant.

    Perkins of Portland

    Ellis Parker Butler

  • The boll-weevil, like the legal and medical professions, thrives upon the follies of humanity.

  • The control of the boll-weevil is considered one of the most serious problems confronting the agricultural men of the country.

    Checking the Waste

    Mary Huston Gregory

British Dictionary definitions for boll weevil

boll weevil

noun
  1. a greyish weevil, Anthonomus grandis, of the southern US and Mexico, whose larvae live in and destroy cotton bollsSee also weevil (def. 1)
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012