ˈBlue-John
† 1. = after-wort. Hence fig. Obs.
| 1672 Marvell Reh. Transp. I. 82 His Defence was but the blew-John of his Ecclesiastical Policy, and this Preface the Tap-droppings of his Defence. 1683 Salmon Doron Med. i. 242 Brewers Afterworts, or Wash, called ‘Blew-John’. |
2. A local name of the blue Fluor-spar found in Derbyshire.
| 1772 Gilpin Lakes Cumberland (1788) II. 217 It..is known in London by the name of the Derbyshire drop. But on the spot it is called Blue John, from the beautiful blue veins which overspread the finest parts of it. 1840 W. Humble Dict. Geol. & Min. (1843) s.v., The blue-john or fluor spar mine near Castleton in Derbyshire. |