Meaning of woolly bear | Babel Free

Definitions

1. A hairy caterpillar.
   colloquial
2. The larva of a moth of the family Arctiidae.
   colloquial
3. An explosive shell that gives out dense smoke when it bursts.
   historical, slang

Equivalents

Examples

“As Bourne came out, he could see shells exploding by the dump, with some shrapnel bursting, woolly-bears they called them, overhead.”

“‘A Woolly Bear was used for demolition, and could be compared with our 5.9's. It burst on impact, made a big hole and left a tremendous cloud of black smoke.’”

CEFR level