blue mass
Americannoun
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Also called mercury mass. a preparation of metallic mercury and other ingredients, used for making blue pills.
Etymology
Origin of blue mass
An Americanism dating back to 1850–55
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
She recounts a historian's quest to prove that Abraham Lincoln took mercury-based medication called blue mass — possibly for constipation and depression.
From Salon • Feb. 13, 2022
He stopped the ball mill, washed out the color gun and filled it with blue mass.
From "Cannery Row" by John Steinbeck
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His little ball mill rolled over and over; mixing the blue mass.
From "Cannery Row" by John Steinbeck
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He would have to go over these again to put blue mass in the arteries.
From "Cannery Row" by John Steinbeck
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Max gazed hard at a faint blue mass of crag miles farther, and then turned half doubtingly to his companion.
From Three Boys or the Chiefs of the Clan Mackhai by Fenn, George Manville
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.