yellow jackets

Noun

yellow jacket (plural yellow jackets)

1. (US) A predatory wasp with alternating black and yellow stripes around the abdomen, usually of the genera Vespula or Dolichovespula.
   • Yellowjackets (Vespula spp.) and paper wasps (Polistes spp.) are beneficial insects in that they are predators of house flies and insect pests that damage landscape trees and crops.2002, Dennis R. Pittenger, California Master Gardener Handbook, page 183
2. (slang) A capsule of pentobarbital sodium (or sometimes other barbiturates), especially when used as a recreational drug.
   • Nearly every pharmaceutical house has its own brands, sold in tablets, solutions or brightly-colored capsules, on which its “detail men” keep doctors informed. Probably the most popular successors to Veronal are Seconal (“red birds” to the bootleg trade) and Nembutal (“yellow jackets”).1952 October 13, Richard L. Williams, “‘To sleep: perchance…’”, in Life, volume 33, number 15, page 110

   Synonyms:

   canary

3. Synonym of yellow vest (“member of a French protest movement which started in late 2018”).
   • Police and hundreds of so-called “yellow jackets” protesting against high taxes and living costs have clashed in Brussels as the movement that started in France two weeks ago gained traction in Belgium.2018 November 30, “Belgian police and ‘yellow jacket’ protesters clash in Brussels”, in Independent.ie

   Synonyms:

   yellow vest