blood and thunder

See also: blood-and-thunder

English

Etymology

blood (noun) +‎ and (conjunction) +‎ thunder (noun). First attested in 1696.

Noun

blood and thunder

  1. Violent action and language, especially of a melodramatic kind, or the representation of this, or an aggressive or bad-tempered physical confrontation, typically in a sporting context.
    • 1920, Hugh Walpole, chapter IV, in The Captives‎[1]:
      […] she could fancy how Thurston was saying to himself: "But what's the good of this? It's blood and thunder we want. The old feller's getting past his work. He must go."
  2. A work of fiction featuring or characterized by bloodshed and violence; a sensationally violent story, drama, etc.

Adjective

blood and thunder (not comparable)

  1. (especially of language, action, or fiction) Both melodramatically violent and aggressive; characterized by anger, or forthright ideas and expression.
    blood-and-thunder stories
    • 1899, Helen Cody Wetmore, Zane Grey, Last of the Great Scouts‎[2]:
      Not Buffalo Bill's! He gave us a jack-o'-lantern scare once upon a time, which I don't believe any of us will ever forget. We had never seen that weird species of pumpkin, and Will embroidered a blood-and-thunder narrative.
    • 1904, George Barr McCutcheon, chapter VI, in Beverly of Graustark‎[3]:
      "Your husband is an American. He should be able to keep you well entertained with blood-and-thunder stories," said he.
    • 1922, William T. Hornaday, The Minds and Manners of Wild Animals‎[4]:
      Very sincerely do we wish that at least one of the many romance writers who are so industriously inventing wild-animal blood-and-thunder stories would do more work with his eyes and less with his imagination.

Derived terms

Interjection

blood and thunder

  1. (rare, archaic) Expressing anger or exasperation.

References

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