deathwatch beetle

Meaning

Noun

• Any of various beetles of the family Anobiidae, especially Xestobium rufovillosum (species), that bore into wood and make a tapping sound.

Origin

• Compound of death + watch + beetle. The sound the beetles make is said to resemble a ticking watch, and is sometimes believed to herald death. Attested (as death watch) from the late 17th century.