boll weevil

noun

1. a snout beetle, Anthonomus grandis, that attacks the bolls of cotton.
2. Informal. (especially in the U.S. Congress) a Southern Democrat with conservative views who often votes with the Republicans as part of a Southern or conservative power bloc.

boll weevil

noun

1. a greyish weevil, Anthonomus grandis , of the southern US and Mexico, whose larvae live in and destroy cotton bolls See also weevil

Word History and Origins

Origin of boll weevil¹

An Americanism dating back to 1890–95

Example Sentences

So did the cotton growers from the South who were chased off their plantations by the boll weevil.

From MIT Technology Review

And cotton crops would often fail when pests like the boll weevil tore through the fields.

From The Daily Beast

Swallows in the Southern states kill the cotton-boll weevil, one of our worst insect pests.

From Project Gutenberg

The one beetle doing by far the greatest harm in this country is the cotton-boll weevil.

From Project Gutenberg

Profitable crops of cotton can be grown in spite of the boll weevil and cotton is not now a surplus money crop.

From Project Gutenberg

The boll weevil means diversified farming and stock raising.

From Project Gutenberg

Plenty of good labor is an absolute necessity in growing cotton under boll weevil conditions.

From Project Gutenberg