lyddite
Americannoun
noun
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an explosive consisting chiefly of fused picric acid
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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.
They had evidently come straight from the scene of action, for they wore long grey coats bespattered with mud and the yellow stains of lyddite, their faces were grimed with smoke and dust.
From The Fight for Constantinople A Story of the Gallipoli Peninsula by Percy F. (Percy Francis) Westerman
The armament of a motor launch consisted of a 13-pounder quick-firing high-angle gun, capable of throwing a lyddite shell for over four miles, and was as useful against aircraft as it was against submarines.
From Submarine Warfare of To-day How the Submarine Menace was Met and Vanquished, With Descriptions of the Inventions and Devices Used, Fast Boats, Mystery Ships by Charles W. (Charles William) Domville-Fife
No sooner had the whirl descended than they set to work and plumped lyddite with great success into the enemy’s lines.
From South Africa and the Transvaal War, Vol. 3 (of 6) From the Battle of Colenso, 15th Dec. 1899, to Lord Roberts's Advance into the Free State, 12th Feb. 1900 by Louis Creswicke
Intense was the interest displayed as every bursting shell threw forth its dense volumes of brown smoke, and showed how the friendly lyddite worked to the rescue.
From South Africa and the Transvaal War, Vol. 3 (of 6) From the Battle of Colenso, 15th Dec. 1899, to Lord Roberts's Advance into the Free State, 12th Feb. 1900 by Louis Creswicke
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 Louis Creswicke
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.
