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.

boll weevil

noun

1. a greyish weevil, Anthonomus grandis , of the southern US and Mexico, whose larvae live in and destroy cotton bolls See also weevil

Word History and Origins

Origin of boll weevil¹

An Americanism dating back to 1890–95

Example Sentences

They have to make sure there is nowhere for the boll weevil to live until cotton is planted again in late March.

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

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

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

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

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