Neither have a clear definition.
Albeit for slightly different reasons...
cock·tail [ˈkäk-ˌtāl\]:
origin: New Orleans (1795), Antoine Amédée Peychaud, apothecary (and famed inventor of "Peychaud bitters") held Masonic social gatherings at his pharmacy, where he mixed brandy toddies with his own bitters and served them in an egg-cup. On this theory, the drink took the name of the cup. [source]
noun
1. a style of mixed drink of liquor, water, sugar and bitters.
2. an appetizer made by combining pieces of food, such as fruit or seafood.
→ ex: fruit cocktail or shrimp cocktail.
3. a horse with a docked tail.
adjective
Used to describe items or garments considered semi-formal
→ ex: cocktail dress and a cocktail glass.
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bo·lide [ˈbəʊlaɪd -lɪd]:
origin: (1850–55) French > Greek bolid- (singular of bolís) missile
noun
Also referred to as a "fire ball", it's part of the meteor family with no set definition of what can be classified as one. Basically, an asteroid that fallen into the atmosphere and whose burn off creates a very bright streak (sometimes exploding) across the sky for a prolonged period of time (versus a second or milliseconds).
