devil's paintbrush
The term "devil's paintbrush" primarily refers to a vividly colored flowering plant but has also been used historically as slang for a type of machine gun.
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Definition
B2Botany
(common)A perennial plant with bright orange-red flowers, known scientifically as Hieracium aurantiacum.
Example
- The devil's paintbrush adds a splash of color to the meadows with its vibrant blooms.
- Gardeners often struggle to control the spread of devil's paintbrush due to its invasive nature.
C1History
(slang, historical)A nickname for the Maxim gun, an early type of machine gun used in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Example
- During the war, soldiers feared the rapid fire of the devil's paintbrush.
- The invention of the devil's paintbrush changed the dynamics of warfare.
Similar
Terms that have similar or relatively close meanings to "devil's paintbrush":
devil's fingerdevil's nettledevil's ropedevil's walking stickdevil's dustdevil's bitdevil's darning needledevil's clawangel's trumpetdevil's cottondevil's gripdevil's ownscarlet bugler