mountain deviln.
/ˈmaʊntᵻn ˌdɛvl/, U.S. /ˈmaʊnt(ə)n ˌdɛv(ə)l/, Australian English /ˈmæɔnt(ə)n ˌdɛv(ə)l/ Australian.
1. The moloch or thorny devil, Moloch horridus.
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the world > animals > reptiles > order Squamata (lizards and snakes) > suborder Lacertilia (lizards) > [noun] > family Agamidae (dragon lizards) > moloch horridus (thorny devil)
Moloch1841
mountain devil1870
thorny devil1899
1870 Argus (Melbourne) 18 May 5/4 The name by which reptiles of this sort are vulgarly known is that of ‘Mountain devil’—suggested probably by the horns on the head.
1872 E. Millett Austral. Parsonage 183 The ‘Mountain Devil’ is about five or six inches long.
1943 H. Drake-Brockman in Coast to Coast 1942 158 There were little barking lizards and mountain-devils and eagle-hawks and white owls in the blow-holes.
1966 Times 11 Nov. (W. Austral. Suppl.) p. iv/4 The hideous little mountain devil (Moloch horridus)..trades on its frightening aspect while sustaining a perfectly blameless existence on a diet of ants.
1981 K. Garvey Rhymes of Ratbag 60 The mountain devil in his spiny regalia Relaxes on rocks around Northern Australia.
2. The honey flower, Lambertia formosa (family Proteaceae), a shrub with red tubular flowers native to south-eastern Australia.
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the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > particular flower or plant esteemed for flower > [noun] > non-British flowers > of Australia
honey flower1799
rengarenga1835
tongue-flower1884
flannel-flower1895
kangaroo paw1902
milkmaids1930
mountain devil1949
1949 B. O'Reilly Green Mountains 91 Mountain Devils are the joy of Blue Mountain children, following a tulip-shaped flower of flame-red comes the seed pod—a perfect little devil's head with two sharp horns and a sinister-looking pointed beard.
1961 Bulletin (Sydney) 1 Mar. 52/2 A path—to Middle Harbor, past bottle-brush and—the spidery flowers of mountain-devils.
1979 J. W. Wrigley & M. Fagg Austral. Native Plants 245 (caption) Fruits of Lambertia formosa (mountain devil) are frequently made into dolls for the tourist trade in the Blue Mountains, New South Wales.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1870