Molotov cocktail
9
8.1
- noun
- /ˈmɒləˌtɔf ˈkɒk.teɪl/
- Offensive
:
cóctel Molotov
- The activists created Molotov cocktails from glass bottles filled with gasoline for their protest.
- throw Molotov cocktails
- hurl Molotov cocktails
- toss Molotov cocktails
The Lenski didn't flee, the Ukrainian army didn't surrender and people threw Molotov cocktails on, on the Russian tanks.
- The Lenski didn't flee, the Ukrainian army didn't surrender and people threw Molotov cocktails on, on the Russian tanks.
Examples
-
Jeep was burned by a Molotov cocktail.
-
There were scenes of kids making Molotov cocktails.
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Have you got a Molotov cocktail?
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We can make Molotov cocktails.
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Yeah, they throw Molotov cocktails in our cars every night.
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When, on Thursday morning, protesters set two cars afire with Molotov cocktails, police arrested 12 of them.
Blog text (28) -
A Molotov cocktail is lit and hurled through the front picture glass window.
Fiction book (1992) -
Crowds gathered, fights broke out, rocks and Molotov cocktails flew.
Academic text (1997) -
Marshall lights the gauze fuse of his newly made Molotov cocktail and throws it down the corridor.
Fiction book (1997) -
Settlers have thrown Molotov cocktails at a house in Assira-al-Qabliya, Nablus region, setting the house alight.
Blog text (2)
Synonyms
∞
1.8
A container with explosive material that makes a large explosion and damages things
170
4.4
A small bomb you throw to explode and damage an area
7
6.6
A bomb that starts fires, often used against buildings or fuel
6
7.3
A weapon made to start fires using chemicals
1
7.1
A bottle filled with petrol and a burning rag, thrown to start a fire
1
7.4
A simple weapon that uses a bottle of gasoline and a cloth wick to start fires
1
6.3
A bomb that starts fires to burn buildings or fuel
1
8.5
A device made to start fires in buildings or fuel stores
A weapon that sprays flammable liquid into the air then sets it on fire to make a large explosion
How Destructive
- Offensive
24
9.6
- Specialized
11
8.6
- Specialized
1
6.3
- Offensive
7
6.6
- Offensive
9
8.1
Surface Forms
Morphology
Molotov + cocktail
The element 'cocktail' at B1 is most likely known as a mixed alcoholic drink and 'Molotov' is a proper name, so a learner who knows both constituents would not predict an improvised incendiary device. The phrase is a conventionalized eponym for a crude bomb (named after Molotov) and its meaning is not compositionally derivable from the parts, making it an idiomatic/technical term rather than transparent.
Etymology
Molotov cocktail: One popular story says the name comes from a wartime joke about a Soviet minister called Molotov; people started calling the homemade burning bottle bombs a 'cocktail' to mock him. The image of a glass bottle with a burning rag explains why today the phrase means 'a homemade burning bottle bomb'.