English

Noun

infernal machine ‎(plural infernal machines)

1. (dated) An explosive device designed to cause damage to life or property. [from 19th c.]
   • 1932, Duff Cooper, Talleyrand, Folio Society 2010, p. 105:

     When a serious attempt was made upon Bonaparte's life by the explosion of an infernal machine, Fouché knew that the plot had been hatched and carried out by royalists […].