infernal machine
1
9.9
- noun
- /ɪnˈfɜrnəl məˈʃin/
- NSFW
:
máquina infernal
- These infernal machines make too much racket.
Examples
-
I wish people would get off their lazy asses and make their own damn infernal machines...
Blog text (1) -
We shall proceed as planned, and as soon as we return to 1985, we'll destroy this infernal machine.
-
Do I give the key to one of my old friends or do I hand it and my fate over to Gabriel and his infernal machine?
-
New Event: Infernal Machine
Blog text (1) -
Infernal machine.
-
This means that if you create or have access to four or more Infernal Machine devices, in order to use all of them, you'll need to start up a brand new game once you've opened up three portals.
Blog text (1) -
Or is that bioelectric energy some facet of the soul that will regenerate (which makes a good argument for why Mephisto wants souls as an external power source for some infernal machine)?
Blog text (6) -
The police discovered an infernal machine hidden in the abandoned warehouse.
-
During the investigation, they found evidence of an infernal machine intended for sabotage.
-
Local authorities warned citizens about a possible infernal machine left by the rebels.
Synonyms
39
5.0
An explosive hidden inside a car that can be set off by remote control or a timer
1
3.4
A bomb set to explode at a fixed time
1
5.6
A hidden device that explodes when someone opens a box or envelope
How Deadly
- NSFW
35
7.7
- NSFW
1
9.9
∞
1.8
- Specialized
40
4.1
Surface Forms
Morphology
The combination of 'infernal' (hellish, devilish) and 'machine' (a device) will likely lead a B1 learner to infer a dangerous or diabolical device, so a general sense of a harmful instrument is recoverable from the parts. However, the precise sense 'a bomb with a timed detonator used for sabotage or assassination' is specialized and somewhat idiomatic/dated and not fully predictable from the constituents alone, so it is only partially transparent.
Etymology
Infernal machine gives a strong image: infernal means 'from hell' and machine means a device, so people imagined a small engine that seemed to come from hell and cause fire and death. People used the phrase for hidden or timed explosives, so today infernal machine means a secret 'bomb' or deadly device.