Meaning of bluebottle | Babel Free

Definitions

1. Any of various blowflies of the genus Calliphora that have an iridescent metallic-blue body and make a loud buzzing noise when flying.
2. A marine jellyfish of the genus Physalia, which includes Physalia physalis, the Portuguese man-of-war, and Physalia utriculus, the Pacific man-of-war; a man-of-war.
3. A cornflower, a plant that grows in grain fields, Centaurea cyanus, with blue flowers resembling bottles.
4. A blue ant, Diamma bicolor, a parasitic wasp native to Australia.
5. Any of various large papilionid butterflies of the genus Graphium, also called triangles, etc.
6. A police officer.
   Australia, Ireland, UK, derogatory, slang
7. A bluestocking.
   derogatory, obsolete

Equivalents

Examples

“The incredibly long body as well as the extended wings were of a gleaming purplish-gray colour: I can only liken it to that of a meat fly or common "bluebottle".”

“I will have you as soundly swing’d for this, you bluebottle rogue!”

“[…] comic writers […] have never failed to make capital out of the New Police, Peel's Raw-Lobsters, Peelers, Blue Bottles, &c., &c.”

“COOMBE: He got the clinch only last week — eighteen months. You see it's no good having anybody here as ain't got a^([sic]) unblemished character. We don't want to have the bluebottles come sniffing round here, do we?”

“To-morrow there is a party of purple at the “blue” Miss Berry’s. Shall I go? um! — I don’t much affect your blue-bottles ; — but one ought to be civil.”

“There appears to be a growing disposition on the part of the literary and dramatic blue-bottles of this city to get up a national drama and to manufacture a new race of actors.”

“..and did not the rich dowager-countess Bluebottle marry her footman, who forthwith became a lord and was made a privy counsellor.”

“There are many literary bluebottles — those who feed upon the remains of literature and buzz about the heads of those who are yet alive in this domain.”

CEFR level