methylated spirits

American  

Or methylated spirit

noun

(usually used with a singular verb)

1. ethyl alcohol denatured with methyl alcohol for the purpose of preventing its use as an alcoholic beverage.

---

methylated spirits British  

noun

1. Also called: metho.   meths.  (functioning as singular or plural) alcohol that has been denatured by the addition of methanol and pyridine and a violet dye

---

Etymology

Origin of methylated spirits

First recorded in 1860–65

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

methylated spirits

In addition to prescription medications, she used methylated spirits, tea tree oil, and even put toothpaste on the spots.

From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2020

Lush's cleaning staples are the same ones everybody's great-grandmother used: vinegar, bicarbonate of soda, methylated spirits, detergent, glycerine, milk.

From Time Magazine Archive

Violets were on sale at every corner, and the atmosphere was impregnated with an intoxicating perfume of methylated spirits.

From Buried Alive: a Tale of These Days by Arnold Bennett

Ruling inks are made to dry quickly by using half a gill of methylated spirits to every pint of ink.

From Paper and Printing Recipes A Handy Volume of Practical Recipes, Concerning the Every-Day Business of Stationers, Printers, Binders, and the Kindred Trades by J. Sawtelle Ford

The spirit-flask contains enough for six separate charges of the lamp, and the cost of using methylated spirits at 4s. 6d. a gallon is not one penny a meal. 

From The Voyage Alone in the Yawl "Rob Roy" by John MacGregor