DCHP-1 Online

wolverine † 

• 1a n. a large fur-bearing animal, Gulo luscus, of the northern forests and tundra, noted for its guile and craftiness.

  See also: beaver-eater  carcajou (def. 1a)  glutton  Indian devil (def. 1)  mountain devil  quickhatch  skunk-bear   wolverine devil  

  • 1743  (1949)  Wolvereen's, or Quequahatches . . . are very Glomsay and Slow footed, and cou'd not have imagin'd they shou'd Kill Deer as they do, not by running them Downe, no! they Gett in a tree and as the Deer passes, they spring upon their back's, gett hold of their Neck and their hang and Suck their blood, tell the Deer trops [sic]. . . .
  • 1872  The wolverine . . . often called "Indian Devil," is very rarely met with in the Maritime provinces of Canada.
  • 1965  All the time I thought it was all hooey about wolverines robbing traps. . . .

• 1b n. the valued fur of this animal.

  • 1749  These Skins in the Hudson's Bay Company Sales, are called Wolverins, and they are so named at the Factories.
  • 1957  [Caption] Note the hood of wolverine . . . .

• 1c n. the flesh of the wolverine used as food.

  • 1926  (1937)  Having no fish we had foxes for supper and they certainly seemed exceptionally good with a little bit of flour added and warmed up in Wolverine fat.
  • 1954  I supped off muscular chunks of wolverine and a thick mess of rolled oats and beans cooked in wolverine soup

• 2 n. in figurative uses, with reference to persons having crafty, destructive, or gluttonous characteristics.

  • 1923  "There now," she said, "you good-for-nothing wolverine, think of that."
  • 1960  The jumble of sunniness and wolverine temper, affection and calculation that lies behind the expressionless smile of Jack Kent Cooke is headed for the United States.