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Holmes light

American

noun

a canister, attached to a life buoy or float, containing calcium carbonate and calcium phosphide, which ignite spontaneously on contact with the water, emitting conspicuous fire and smoke.

Etymology

Origin of Holmes light

Probably from the surname Holmes

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.