α. 1700s 1900s– witches cauldron, 1800s– witches' cauldron, 1800s– witch's cauldron.
β. 1800s– witch cauldron.
witch's cauldronn.
/ˌwɪtʃᵻz ˈkɔːldr(ə)n/, /ˌwɪtʃᵻz ˈkɒldr(ə)n/, U.S. /ˌwɪtʃᵻz ˈkɔldrən/, /ˌwɪtʃᵻz ˈkɑldrən/ 1. A large cauldron or cooking vessel supposedly used by witches to brew potions for spells. Also: a representation of this, esp. a toy or model popularly used as a Halloween decoration.Frequently, and in earliest use, with allusion to Shakespeare's Macbeth (1623) iv. i, in which three witches add various unwholesome ingredients to a boiling cauldron.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the supernatural > the occult > sorcery, witchcraft, or magic > [noun] > object used in
mirrorc1330
powderc1395
goblet1519
glass?1566
witchcraft1572
witch's cauldron1762
troll-drum1894
society > occupation and work > equipment > receptacle or container > vessel > vessel in which liquid is boiled > [noun] > cauldron
leada1100
cauldronc1300
welling-lead1371
chaldron1555
witch's cauldron1762
set-pot1839
α.
β. 1802 Poet. Reg. 1801 140 Of mortal groans, And blood, and bones, Take a vast witch-cauldron measure.1910 E. B. Perry Stories Standard Teaching Pieces for Piano-forte 154 Amid the drifting acrid smoke of the fire, and the noxious vapors from the great witch-cauldron, she [sc. Baba Yaga] brewed her deadly poisons.2014 USA Today (Nexis) 23 Oct. b5 Consumers are drawn to gee-whiz items such as witch cauldrons that steam automatically.1762 A. Erskine Let. 1 May in Lett. A. Erskine & J. Boswell (1763) xxvi. 93 Sometimes I have taken you for the witches cauldron in Macbeth; this resemblance was in some degree warranted by your figure and shape.
1859 Wisconsin Daily Patriot 11 Nov. A pale and ghastly light which flickered and waved like the sickly emanations from a witch's cauldron.
1936 N.Y. Woman 23 Sept. 17/1 The scenery is highly decorative, featuring witches' cauldrons, broomsticks, black cats and all the accoutrements of a high Halloween.
2013 Express (Nexis) 1 Feb. 26 Dressing tables..littered with..pots containing..chicken fat, fish scales and crushed beetles... It may sound like..stuff you'd find in a witch's cauldron but these are..hidden in our..make-up, toiletries and hair products.
2. figurative. A place, situation, etc., in which various unstable or unpleasant elements combine to produce an unpredictable, undesirable, or powerful effect.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > danger > [noun] > instance or cause of > dangerous situation
precipice1614
witch's cauldron1816
the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > danger > [noun] > instance or cause of > dangerous place
the lion's moutha1225
unsanctuary?1617
Indian country1625
in the lion's paws1629
witch's cauldron1816
hot spot1837
no man's land1926
red zone1942
trouble spot1956
α.
β. 1840 Tait's Edinb. Mag. Nov. 747/1 Our commerce is stagnating from the..prospect of war... All classes of the nation are being impoverished... The monopoly bank, too, is adding its contribution to the ingredients of this witch cauldron.2020 @wd3ncha 2 Feb. in twitter.com (accessed 15 Mar. 2021) Hate when you're sick and on top of feeling gross allover your tummy becomes a witch cauldron of meds, ginger and herb tea.1816 S. T. Coleridge Statesman's Man. App. D. p. xxxi The writings of Plato are smoke and flash from the witch's cauldron of a disturbed imagination!
1900 M. E. Braddon Infidel iii. 18 To move in an atmosphere of ribald jokes..; to drink deep of adulterated wines... These were the diversions..sought at Mrs. Mandalay's; and it was into this witch's cauldron that William Thornton plunged his daughter.
2000 Times 11 Dec. s12/5 Modern sport is getting so intense, it is almost unmanageable: drugs and violence being just the first items in the witch's cauldron.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2021; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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n.1762