crotch dumpling
- noun
- /krɒtʃ ˈdʌmplɪŋ/
- Informal
:
pequeño travieso
- After a long day, the toddler curled up on his father’s lap like a little crotch dumpling.
Examples
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He laughed and called himself a crotch dumpling when he tripped over his own feet.
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My niece is such a silly crotch dumpling when she plays.
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Her cat became a warm crotch dumpling whenever she sat down to read.
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Look at that little crotch dumpling sitting on Grandma's lap!
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After a long day, the toddler curled up on his father’s lap like a little crotch dumpling.
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Look at that little crotch dumpling sitting on Grandma's lap!
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He laughed and called himself a crotch dumpling when he tripped over his own feet.
Synonyms
7
9.9
A friendly word for a person's bottom or for someone very cute
A young child who is noisy and causes trouble
A joking, slightly rude way to call someone's children
Surface Forms
Morphology
crotch + dumpling
The components 'crotch' (a location at the front junction of the thighs) and 'dumpling' (a small, plump thing or affectionate term) together allow a learner to infer a sense of a small/plump person located in someone's crotch/lap, so the basic image is derivable. However, the precise pragmatic nuance (humorous/affectionate vs. mildly pejorative or specifically a child sitting on a lap) and the idiomatic usage are not fully predictable without exposure, so it is only partially transparent.
Etymology
Crotch dumpling may come from a funny image of a small child or pet sitting in someone's lap like a soft dumpling at the crotch, the place where the legs meet. That's why it is used as a playful name for someone who is cuddly and a little 'awkward' or for a 'small child on a lap'.