lord of the flies

English

Etymology

The English-language translation of the Hebrew word בעל זבוב‎ (ba'al-z'vúv, “fly-lord, Beelzebub”), which in turn is a mistranslation of the name of the Semitic devil Baal-zevuv.

Noun

lord of the flies

  1. Beelzebub; Satan
  2. (idiomatic, biblical) a ruler over a worthless kingdom; leader of a meaningless microcosm.

Usage notes

The phrase can also be used as an adjective to describe a situation where there is no government and crime is common. This usage is a reference to the book Lord of the Flies and is usually capitalized.

This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.