Meaning of devil's finger | Babel Free

Definitions

1. A belemnite, any of various extinct species of cephalopod in the order Belemnitida.
2. The fossil remains of such a cephalopod.

Examples

“LXXVI. Belemnites, a conical or fusiform stone, of brown radiating spar, […] Various names have⟳ been assigned to this fossil; many of which, derived from the ridiculous notions entertained by the vulgar, in the early ages, need⟳ only be mentioned. Such are, devil’s fingers, Spectrorum candela, and idæus dactylus, from their having somewhat the form⟳ of fingers”

“In the Middle Ages, when fields in the Norfolk chalk and Oxford clay outcrops of England were ploughed, they would appear⟳ after a thunderstorm. The myth soon emerged that they were thunderbolts. It is more likely that the heavy downpour had washed away the surrounding soil to reveal⟳ the fossils. Belemnites are also known as St Peter’s fingers, devil’s fingers and ghostly candles.”

“Bivalves, a type⟳ of Jurassic oyster, are known as ‘devil’s toenails’ and the bullet shaped belemnites, which look⟳ like⟳ dinosaur teeth and are the remains of a creature resembling a cuttlefish, are, locally, called ‘devil’s fingers’.”

CEFR level