yellow admiral

English

Noun

yellow admiral (plural yellow admirals)

  1. (now historical) A post-captain promoted to the rank of rear admiral on the understanding that he will immediately retire without having actually served at that rank. [from 18th c.]
    • 1792, Charlotte Smith, Desmond, Broadview, published 2001, page 328:
      Happiness, in her estimation, consists […] of being appealed to by the yellow admirals and gouty generals, as a person of great sagacity in cases, whether of medicine, or cards, or anecdote […] .
  2. A large butterfly, Vanessa itea, native to Australia and New Zealand, with yellow markings on the forewings. [from 19th c.]
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.