lawyer cane
- noun
- Australian
:
caña de abogado
- Aboriginal Australians traditionally used the strong fibers of lawyer cane to weave baskets.
Examples
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The forest was thick with lawyer cane, making it hard to move through without getting scratched.
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The lawyer cane grows abundantly in the rainforests of Queensland.
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Botanists surveyed several types of palms, including the lawyer cane, during their expedition.
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Have you ever seen a lawyer cane in its natural habitat?
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Aboriginal Australians traditionally used the strong fibers of lawyer cane to weave baskets.
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The forest was thick with lawyer cane, making it hard to move through without getting scratched.
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The lawyer cane grows abundantly in the rainforests of Queensland.
Synonyms
A tall spiny climbing palm from northeast Queensland, Australia, with long stems used for weaving
Surface Forms
Morphology
lawyer + cane
The constituent 'cane' indicates a plant or stem, so a learner might infer this is some kind of cane-plant, but the modifier 'lawyer' (a profession) gives no clear semantic cue to a tall, scrambling spiny palm. The specific botanical sense and geographic information are not derivable from the parts, so only a partial (plant-type) inference is possible.
Etymology
Lawyer cane may get its name from its long, sharp hooks that grab at clothes or skin. One popular story says the hooks 'hold you like a lawyer who won't let go', so the name reminds you this tall, spiny cane can tangle and catch people.
