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Glite Dictionary
blasting gelatin

blasting gelatin

1 8.6
An explosive made from chemicals used to break rock in mines and to destroy buildings
  • noun
  • /ˈblæstɪŋ ˈdʒɛtəˌlɪn/
  • Specialized
translation icon : gelatina explosiva
  • If we were to fill those cylinders with that blasting gelatin and then fix them so that they would stick out over the end of the boat, and then run the boat against the side of a ship, they would go off, just like a torpedo, wouldn't they?

Examples

  • Blasting gelatin, tinned grub, cylinders of oxygen and hydrogen, heaps of things them Germans could use.

    The African Queen (1952)

  • Well, them, that's blasting gelatin, miss.

    The African Queen (1952)

  • All it would take would be one bullet in the blasting gelatin and we'd be in little bits and pieces.

    The African Queen (1952)

  • The demolitions committee of Project Mayhem... wrapped the foundation columns of a dozen buildings with blasting gelatin.

    Fight Club (1999)

  • The construction crew used blasting gelatin to safely demolish the old building.

  • To clear the tunnel, they employed blasting gelatin as an effective explosive.

  • During the mining operation, workers carefully handled blasting gelatin for maximum safety.

Synonyms

dynamite
vsblasting gelatin
  • Specialized
138 5.1

An explosive material used to break rock or destroy buildings

uses nitrocellulose as a binder instead of pulp when mixed with nitroglycerin
gelignite
vsblasting gelatin
  • Archaic
1 9.9

A strong explosive like dynamite used to break rock or buildings

uses nitrocellulose as a binder instead of pulp when mixed with nitroglycerin
gelly
vsblasting gelatin
  • Archaic
1 9.9

An explosive like dynamite used to break rock in mines or construction

uses nitrocellulose as a binder instead of pulp when mixed with nitroglycerin
Nobelit
vsblasting gelatin
  • Specialized
9.9

A trade name for an explosive used to break rock in mining and construction

is used especially in mining and demolition rather than in general construction
bursting explosive
vsblasting gelatin
  • NSFW
8.5

A strong chemical charge in shells or bombs that makes a violent blast

is for controlled rock breaking in mining and demolition rather than for military shells

Surface Forms

blasting gelatin singular
blasting gelatins plural

Morphology

blasting + gelatin

The compound links 'blasting' (use of explosives) with 'gelatin' (a jelly-like substance), so a learner who knows both words can reasonably infer it is a gelatinous material used for blasting — i.e. an explosive. However, the precise technical sense (a specific nitroglycerin/guncotton explosive) and the specialized use of 'gelatin' for explosives are not fully predictable from the common food-related meaning, so the relation is only partly transparent.

Etymology

Blasting gelatin is named because blasting shows it makes things 'explode' and gelatin shows it is jelly-like. Miners would pack the jelly into holes in rock and set it off to break the rock, so the name now means a powerful explosive used to break rock.