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Glite Dictionary
cup and saucer

cup and saucer

9.9
A garden flower with bell-shaped blue, purple, or white blooms
  • noun
translation icon : campanilla
  • He picked up the cup and saucer carefully to avoid spilling the hot tea.

Examples

  • She planted several cup and saucer seedlings along the fence for a splash of color.

  • Do cups and saucers thrive in partial shade?

  • Many gardeners prize the cup and saucer for its distinctive, bell-shaped flowers.

  • The cup and saucer brightened the garden with its beautiful blue blooms.

  • The cup and saucer is blooming beautifully.

  • The beautiful cup and saucer displayed delicate blue flowers that brightened up the dining table.

  • She served the tea in a lovely cup and saucer with intricate designs that impressed her guests.

Synonyms

Campanula medium
vscup and saucer
  • Specialized
9.1

A garden plant that usually lives two years with bell-shaped blue, violet, or white flowers, also called Canterbury bell

is the same plant but given a different common name
Canterbury bell
vscup and saucer
7.7

A garden plant with pretty bell-shaped flowers grown for decoration

is the specific European biennial noted for blue, violet, or white bell flowers

Surface Forms

cup and saucer singular
cups and saucers plural

Morphology

cup + and + saucer

A B1 learner who knows 'cup' and 'saucer' will interpret them as tableware; the leap from that literal meaning to a specific biennial plant called 'cup and saucer' is not predictable from the constituents. The plant name is a lexicalized, metaphorical label (flowers resembling a cup and saucer) and therefore requires prior exposure or explicit explanation, making it opaque to learners.

Etymology

Cup and saucer comes from the way the plant's flowers look: each bell-like bloom appears as a small cup sitting on a flat saucer. That's why gardeners use this name for the 'plant' and can easily picture its blue or white 'flowers'.