Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A lantern made from a hollowed pumpkin with a carved face, usually displayed on Halloween.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun Same as
ignis fatuus , or will-o'-the-wisp. - noun A lantern used in children's play, made of the rind of a pumpkin or of a similar vegetable, in which incisions are made to represent eyes, nose, and mouth; a pumpkin-lantern.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Biol.) A large orange-colored luminescent mushroom,
Clitocybe illudens , also classified asOmphalotus olearius . It is poisonous and is sometimes found on hardwood tree stumps. - noun a pale light sometimes seen at night over marshy ground; an
ignis fatuus ; a will-o'-the-wisp. - noun A lantern carved from a hollowed-out pumpkin, with holes cut in the rind and so shaped that when it is illuminated by a candle inside, the features of a human face, cat's face, etc. appear in a glowing yellow color. It is used mostly as a decoration at Halloween.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A
carved pumpkin whose top and stem have been cut out and interior removed, leaving a hollowshell that is thendecorated to represent a face, illuminated from within by acandle . - noun archaic A
will o' the wisp
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a pale light sometimes seen at night over marshy ground
- noun lantern carved from a pumpkin
- noun a large poisonous agaric with orange caps and narrow clustered stalks; the gills are luminescent
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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HALLOWEEN ON ELLSWORTH, costume contests, create-your-own jack-o'-lantern, a hay maze, face painting, treats, make-your-own edible ghost or broomstick, a moon bounce, pie-eating contest and more. 2-5 p.m.,
Montgomery County community calendar, Oct. 28-Nov. 4, 2010 Post 2010
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When's the last time you saw a jack-o'-lantern carved in the shape of a BMW?
Evolutionary psychology explores ancient and newer roots of instinctual fears Arthur Allen 2010
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And I have a few photographs, as promised, of this year's jack-o'-lantern, which is, by the way, the first I ever carved in New England (though, Spooky did the mouth, as I was impatient):
"...and I can see that it's a lie." smallpinkfish 2009
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When's the last time you saw a jack-o'-lantern carved in the shape of a BMW?
Evolutionary psychology explores ancient and newer roots of instinctual fears Arthur Allen 2010
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I carried my first New England jack-o'-lantern out onto the bridge, held it over the abyss, and dropped it into the tea-colored, tannin-stained water ten or so feet below.
"The Belated Burial," Shaharrazad and Kalií, Second Best Rocks, and Arcana greygirlbeast 2009
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Damn, I just realized I didn't upload photos of our jack-o'-lantern.
"We're just a million little gods causing rainstorms, turning every good thing to rust." greygirlbeast 2009
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If that's you, feel free to stop carving your jack-o'-lantern for just a moment, because you'll want to hear this.
National Christmas Tree to light up the Ellipse on Dec. 9 Alex Baldinger 2010
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And speaking of Halloween decorations, we like this Metro-themed jack-o'-lantern courtesy of Greater Greater Washington.
Giant spiders, eyeball-tinis: D.C's blogs Washington Post editors 2010
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We left the house with no particular destination in mind, but as Spooky was pulling out of the drive, I spotted our jack-o'-lantern, still on the stoop.
"The Belated Burial," Shaharrazad and Kalií, Second Best Rocks, and Arcana greygirlbeast 2009
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Describing herself as "borderline obsessed" with snot otters, she says, "I have gone so far as to carve a hellbender shape in my jack-o'-lantern every year" at Halloween.
Green Movement's New Mascot: the Slimy Snot Otter Leslie Eaton 2011
oroboros commented on the word jack-o'-lantern
Guiness Book of World Records shortest time to carve one? 54.72 seconds (2001) --via NPR's Says You
October 29, 2011