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plural bluebottles
Any of various blowflies of the genus Calliphora that have an iridescent metallic-blue body and make a loud buzzing noise when flying. quotations examples
The incredibly long body as well as the extended wings were of a gleaming purplish-gray colour: I can only liken it to that of a meat fly or common "bluebottle".
1930, Sax Rohmer, The Day the World Ended, published 1969, page i. 16
A marine jellyfish of the genus Physalia, which includes Physalia physalis, the Portuguese man-of-war, and Physalia utriculus, the Pacific man-of-war; a man-of-war. examples
A cornflower, a plant that grows in grain fields, Centaurea cyanus, with blue flowers resembling bottles. examples
A blue ant, Diamma bicolor, a parasitic wasp native to Australia. examples
Any of various large papilionid butterflies of the genus Graphium, also called triangles, etc. examples
(UK, Australia, Ireland, slang, derogatory) A police officer. quotations
COOMBE: He got the clinch only last week — eighteen months. You see it's no good having anybody here as ain't got a unblemished character. We don't want to have the bluebottles come sniffing round here, do we?
1882, Henry Herman, Henry Arthur Jones, The Silver King