parcel bomb
- noun
- /ˈpɑrsəl bɑm/
- NSFW
:
bomba de paquete
- He received a parcel bomb meant for a public figure, which fortunately did not detonate.
- two parcel bombs
Examples
-
Investigators found that the parcel bomb was intended to intimidate local officials.
-
The police discovered a parcel bomb hidden within a package at the post office.
-
During a two-day period in the first week of November, more than a dozen parcel bombs arrived at embassies in Athens and at the offices of leading politicians in three European cities.
Academic text (2011) -
In the future, terrorists will be individuals or like-minded people working in very small groups, on the pattern of the technology-hating Unabomber, who apparently worked alone sending out parcel bombs over two decades, or the perpetrators of the 1995 bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City.
Academic text (1996)
Synonyms
1
7.8
A small bomb hidden in an envelope that explodes when opened
1
5.6
A hidden device that explodes when someone opens a box or envelope
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly and transparently derived from combining 'parcel' (a package) with 'bomb' (an explosive device); a B1 learner who knows both words can infer it refers to an explosive concealed in a package. This noun+noun compounding pattern is common and predictable across languages, so the overall sense is immediately comprehensible from the constituents.
Etymology
Parcel bomb comes from a simple, frightening picture: a parcel (a package or envelope) hides a bomb inside, and the device explodes when the parcel is opened. That's why it means 'an explosive device concealed in a package or envelope'.