lyddite
Americannoun
noun
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an explosive consisting chiefly of fused picric acid
-
a dense black variety of chert, formerly used as a touchstone
Etymology
Origin of lyddite
1885–90; named after Lydd, borough in SE England near the site where it was first tested; see -ite 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It seemed as if General Buller were determined to annihilate all the Boers with his lyddite shells, so as to enable the soldiers to walk at their leisure to the release of Ladysmith.
From My Reminiscences of the Anglo-Boer War by Van Breda, P.
The lyddite bombs, manufactured in vast quantities by the Krupps for the Relay Gun and all other high explosives, were used to demolish the fortresses upon every frontier of Europe.
From The Man Who Rocked the Earth by Wood, Robert Williams
That was all he cared about, his lyddite and his tobacco.
From Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 150, January 19, 1916 by Seaman, Owen, Sir
The smell of the lyddite was nauseating, the uproar stupefying.
From "Contemptible", by "Casualty" by
Their 12-pounders began to snort and to roar, and lyddite whizzed and shrieked over to Grobler's Hill and in the neighbourhood of Fort Wylie.
From South Africa and the Transvaal War, Vol. 2 (of 6) From the Commencement of the War to the Battle of Colenso, 15th Dec. 1899 by Creswicke, Louis
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.
