devil's darning needle
- noun
- /ˈdɛvəlz ˈdɑrnɪŋ ˈnidəl/
- US
:
aguja de diablo
- The hedgerow was covered in devil's darning needle, its flowers bright against the green leaves.
Examples
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He mistakenly took the devil's darning needle for a vine until it began to bloom in late summer.
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Gardeners often appreciate devil's darning needle for its ability to attract butterflies and bees.
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Look at the devil's darning needle!
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I saw a devil's darning needle today.
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Many butterflies flit around the devil's darning needle, drawn to its small creamy white flowers.
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The devil's darning needle sprawls elegantly over the other plants in the garden.
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In late summer, the devil's darning needle opens its delicate flowers, creating a lovely display.
Synonyms
3
9.9
A climbing plant from eastern North America that grows over other plants and has small white flowers
A climbing vine with clusters of small white flowers that grows in eastern North America
A climbing plant with clusters of small white or pale green flowers
How Climbing
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'dragonfly' is not transparently built from 'devil's' (demonic), 'darning' (sewing/mending) and 'needle' (sharp implement); the phrase is a folkloric or conventional name rather than a literal description. A B1 learner who knows the constituent words would not reliably infer it refers to a specific insect, so the expression is idiomatic and unpredictable.
Etymology
Devil's darning needle may come from the plant's long, thin stems and fluffy seed heads that made people think of a sewing tool called a darning needle, and the word 'devil's' was added to make the name sound wild, so today it names that climbing plant.