bluebottle

American  

[bloo-bot-l] / ˈbluˌbɒt l /

noun

1. cornflower.

2. a composite plant, Centaurea cyanus, having narrow leaves and blue flower heads.

3. bluebottle fly.

4. Australian. Portuguese man-of-war.

---

bluebottle British  

/ ˈbluːˌbɒtəl /

noun

1. another name for the blowfly

2. any of various blue-flowered plants, esp the cornflower

3. an informal word for a policeman

4. an informal name for Portuguese man-of-war

---

Etymology

Origin of bluebottle

First recorded in 1545–55; blue + bottle ¹

Example Sentences

My mother laughed at me one fateful beach day as she pulled a Pacific man o’ war jellyfish — known in Australia as a bluebottle — from my body as I screamed.

From New York Times • Apr. 10, 2022

Elm Farm has produced bluebottle larvae for decades, as bait for recreational fishers.

From Science Magazine • Oct. 14, 2015

Kai Kupferschmidt Mick Grant, a farmer in the United Kingdom, has long raised bluebottle larvae for anglers.

From Science Magazine • Oct. 14, 2015

The morning I stood on the bend of the stairs and watched a spider trap then eat a bluebottle.

From The Guardian • Jun. 1, 2012

An ugly bluebottle crept along his cheek before buzzing off.

From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda