Found 1 items, similar to Locofoco.
English → English (gcide)
Definition: Locofoco
Locofoco
\Lo`co*fo"co\, n. [Of uncertain etymol.; perh. for L.
loco foci instead of fire; or, according to Bartlett, it was
called so from a self-lighting cigar, with a match
composition at the end, invented in 1834 by John Marck of New
York, and called by him locofoco cigar, in imitation of the
word locomotive, which by the uneducated was supposed to
mean, self-moving.]
1. A friction match. [U.S.]
[1913 Webster]
2. A nickname formerly given to a member of the Democratic
party. [U.S.]
[1913 Webster]
Note: The name was first applied, in 1834, to a portion of
the Democratic party, because, at a meeting in Tammany
Hall, New York, in which there was great diversity of
sentiment, the chairman left his seat, and the lights
were extinguished, for the purpose of dissolving the
meeting; when those who were opposed to an adjournment
produced locofoco matches, rekindled the lights,
continued the meeting, and accomplished their object.
[1913 Webster]