stormy petrel

American  

noun

1. the British storm petrel, Hydrobates pelagicus, of the eastern Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, and Indian Ocean.

2. a person who causes or likes trouble or strife.

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stormy petrel British  

noun

1. another name for storm petrel

2. a person who brings or portends trouble

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Etymology

Origin of stormy petrel

First recorded in 1770–80

Example Sentences

But Leon Smith, the captain, was determined to have him here, his stormy petrel capable of all sorts of heroics in the past, a good luck charm now, and a loud one.

From The Guardian • Nov. 29, 2015

Jim Carey had been a stormy petrel in the labor movement for years.

From Time Magazine Archive

Major General Smedley Darlington Butler, 58, hawk-nosed, "gimlet-eyed" stormy petrel of the U. S. Marine Corps; of an abdominal ailment; in Philadelphia.

From Time Magazine Archive

Like Colonel Mitchell but in different manner and degree, Rear Admiral William Sowden Sims, retired, has been a stormy petrel.

From Time Magazine Archive

Indeed, it may even be said that his little, shrunk and wizened figure was a kind of stormy petrel: his very presence was a certain signal that danger and adventure were at hand.

From Submarine U93 by Gilson, Charles