oil of vitriol
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of oil of vitriol
First recorded in 1570–80
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.
“You carried oil of vitriol knocking about in a sack? It is infinitely dangerous, my boy.”
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
The journals printed their columns in gall; the satirists dipped their pens in concentrated acid; the popular haranguers dashed the oil of vitriol of contempt in each other's faces.
From Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine — Volume 57, No. 351, January 1845 by Various
Vinegar is made of whisky, or of oil of vitriol.
From The Humbugs of the World An Account of Humbugs, Delusions, Impositions, Quackeries, Deceits and Deceivers Generally, in All Ages by Barnum, P. T. (Phineas Taylor)
A. The action of iron or zinc scraps on diluted oil of vitriol is among the best.
It may be dissolved in sulphuric acid or oil of vitriol, thereby making an indigo extract.
From Vegetable Dyes Being a Book of Recipes and Other Information Useful to the Dyer by Mairet, Ethel M.
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.
