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De - Pt| English Dictionary: blue devils | by the DICT Development Group |
| 3 results for blue devils | |
| From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]: | |
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| From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: | |
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Devil \Dev"il\, n. [AS. de[a2]fol, de[a2]ful; akin to G. [?]eufel, Goth. diaba[a3]lus; all fr. L. diabolus the devil, Gr. [?] the devil, the slanderer, fr. [?] to slander, calumniate, orig., to throw across; [?] across + [?] to throw, let fall, fall; cf. Skr. gal to fall. Cf. {Diabolic}.] 1. The Evil One; Satan, represented as the tempter and spiritual of mankind. [Jesus] being forty days tempted of the devil. --Luke iv. 2. That old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world. --Rev. xii. 9. 2. An evil spirit; a demon. A dumb man possessed with a devil. --Matt. ix. 32. 3. A very wicked person; hence, any great evil. [bd]That devil Glendower.[b8] [bd]The devil drunkenness.[b8] --Shak. Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? --John vi. 70. 4. An expletive of surprise, vexation, or emphasis, or, ironically, of negation. [Low] The devil a puritan that he is, . . . but a timepleaser. --Shak. The things, we know, are neither rich nor rare, But wonder how the devil they got there. --Pope. 5. (Cookery) A dish, as a bone with the meat, broiled and excessively peppered; a grill with Cayenne pepper. Men and women busy in baking, broiling, roasting oysters, and preparing devils on the gridiron. --Sir W. Scott. 6. (Manuf.) A machine for tearing or cutting rags, cotton, etc. {Blue devils}. See under {Blue}. {Cartesian devil}. See under {Cartesian}. {Devil bird} (Zo[94]l.), one of two or more South African drongo shrikes ({Edolius retifer}, and {E. remifer}), believed by the natives to be connected with sorcery. {Devil may care}, reckless, defiant of authority; -- used adjectively. --Longfellow. {Devil's apron} (Bot.), the large kelp ({Laminaria saccharina}, and {L. longicruris}) of the Atlantic ocean, having a blackish, leathery expansion, shaped somewhat like an apron. {Devil's coachhorse}. (Zo[94]l.) (a) The black rove beetle ({Ocypus olens}). [Eng.] (b) A large, predacious, hemipterous insect ({Prionotus cristatus}); the wheel bug. [U.S.] {Devil's darning-needle}. (Zo[94]l.) See under {Darn}, v. t. {Devil's fingers}, {Devil's hand} (Zo[94]l.), the common British starfish ({Asterias rubens}); -- also applied to a sponge with stout branches. [Prov. Eng., Irish & Scot.] {Devil's riding-horse} (Zo[94]l.), the American mantis ({Mantis Carolina}). {The Devil's tattoo}, a drumming with the fingers or feet. [bd]Jack played the Devil's tattoo on the door with his boot heels.[b8] --F. Hardman (Blackw. Mag.). {Devil worship}, worship of the power of evil; -- still practiced by barbarians who believe that the good and evil forces of nature are of equal power. {Printer's devil}, the youngest apprentice in a printing office, who runs on errands, does dirty work (as washing the ink rollers and sweeping), etc. [bd]Without fearing the printer's devil or the sheriff's officer.[b8] --Macaulay. {Tasmanian devil} (Zo[94]l.), a very savage carnivorous marsupial of Tasmania ({Dasyurus, [or] Diabolus, ursinus}). {To play devil with}, to molest extremely; to ruin. [Low] | |
| From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: | |
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Blue \Blue\, a. [Compar. {Bluer}; superl. {Bluest}.] [OE. bla, blo, blew, blue, Sw. bl[?], D. blauw, OHG. bl[?]o, G. blau; but influenced in form by F. bleu, from OHG. bl[be]o.] 1. Having the color of the clear sky, or a hue resembling it, whether lighter or darker; as, the deep, blue sea; as blue as a sapphire; blue violets. [bd]The blue firmament.[b8] --Milton. 2. Pale, without redness or glare, -- said of a flame; hence, of the color of burning brimstone, betokening the presence of ghosts or devils; as, the candle burns blue; the air was blue with oaths. 3. Low in spirits; melancholy; as, to feel blue. 4. Suited to produce low spirits; gloomy in prospect; as, thongs looked blue. [Colloq.] 5. Severe or over strict in morals; gloom; as, blue and sour religionists; suiting one who is over strict in morals; inculcating an impracticable, severe, or gloomy mortality; as, blue laws. 6. Literary; -- applied to women; -- an abbreviation of bluestocking. [Colloq.] The ladies were very blue and well informed. --Thackeray. {Blue asbestus}. See {Crocidolite}. {Blue black}, of, or having, a very dark blue color, almost black. {Blue blood}. See under {Blood}. {Blue buck} (Zo[94]l.), a small South African antelope ({Cephalophus pygm[91]us}); also applied to a larger species ({[92]goceras leucoph[91]u}s); the blaubok. {Blue cod} (Zo[94]l.), the buffalo cod. {Blue crab} (Zo[94]l.), the common edible crab of the Atlantic coast of the United States ({Callinectes hastatus}). {Blue curls} (Bot.), a common plant ({Trichostema dichotomum}), resembling pennyroyal, and hence called also {bastard pennyroyal}. {Blue devils}, apparitions supposed to be seen by persons suffering with {delirium tremens}; hence, very low spirits. [bd]Can Gumbo shut the hall door upon blue devils, or lay them all in a red sea of claret?[b8] --Thackeray. {Blue gage}. See under {Gage}, a plum. {Blue gum}, an Australian myrtaceous tree ({Eucalyptus globulus}), of the loftiest proportions, now cultivated in tropical and warm temperate regions for its timber, and as a protection against malaria. The essential oil is beginning to be used in medicine. The timber is very useful. See {Eucalyptus}. {Blue jack}, {Blue stone}, blue vitriol; sulphate of copper. {Blue jacket}, a man-of war's man; a sailor wearing a naval uniform. {Blue jaundice}. See under {Jaundice}. {Blue laws}, a name first used in the eighteenth century to describe certain supposititious laws of extreme rigor reported to have been enacted in New Haven; hence, any puritanical laws. [U. S.] {Blue light}, a composition which burns with a brilliant blue flame; -- used in pyrotechnics and as a night signal at sea, and in military operations. {Blue mantle} (Her.), one of the four pursuivants of the English college of arms; -- so called from the color of his official robes. {Blue mass}, a preparation of mercury from which is formed the blue pill. --McElrath. {Blue mold}, or mould, the blue fungus ({Aspergillus glaucus}) which grows on cheese. --Brande & C. {Blue Monday}, a Monday following a Sunday of dissipation, or itself given to dissipation (as the Monday before Lent). {Blue ointment} (Med.), mercurial ointment. {Blue Peter} (British Marine), a blue flag with a white square in the center, used as a signal for sailing, to recall boats, etc. It is a corruption of blue repeater, one of the British signal flags. {Blue pill}. (Med.) (a) A pill of prepared mercury, used as an aperient, etc. (b) Blue mass. {Blue ribbon}. (a) The ribbon worn by members of the order of the Garter; -- hence, a member of that order. (b) Anything the attainment of which is an object of great ambition; a distinction; a prize. [bd]These [scholarships] were the --blue ribbon of the college.[b8] --Farrar. (c) The distinctive badge of certain temperance or total abstinence organizations, as of the --Blue ribbon Army. {Blue ruin}, utter ruin; also, gin. [Eng. Slang] --Carlyle. {Blue spar} (Min.), azure spar; lazulite. See {Lazulite}. {Blue thrush} (Zo[94]l.), a European and Asiatic thrush ({Petrocossyphus cyaneas}). {Blue verditer}. See {Verditer}. {Blue vitriol} (Chem.), sulphate of copper, a violet blue crystallized salt, used in electric batteries, calico printing, etc. {Blue water}, the open ocean. {To look blue}, to look disheartened or dejected. {True blue}, genuine and thorough; not modified, nor mixed; not spurious; specifically, of uncompromising Presbyterianism, blue being the color adopted by the Covenanters. | |
