mud puppy
- noun
- /mʌd ˈpʌpi/
- US
:
salamandra de barro
- So the mud puppy is like this salamander and it's got this crazy set of gills like that come out of it like that.
Examples
-
The mud puppy is a large salamander with bright red gills that swims in muddy waters.
-
In the pond, we often spotted the mud puppy gliding gracefully among the reeds.
-
The mud puppy's bushy gills are a striking feature that help it breathe underwater.
Synonyms
A large water salamander with feathery gills found in North America
A North American water salamander with red feathery gills that lives its whole life in water
A large salamander that lives in water in North America and has feathery gills
A North American salamander that lives in water and keeps its external gills
Surface Forms
Morphology
mud + puppy
The phrase combines transparent constituents ('mud' + 'puppy'), so a B1 learner who knows both words will likely infer it refers to an animal associated with mud (e.g. a muddy young animal). However, that inference does not yield the specific sense — a large aquatic salamander — and the use of 'puppy' (normally 'young dog') can mislead, so the exact referent is not predictable without prior exposure.
Etymology
Mud puppy comes from a simple picture: this salamander lives in muddy water and looks a little like a small dog, so people joined mud (where it lives) and puppy (a small dog) to name it. That's why mud puppy now means 'a large salamander that lives in water and has bushy red gills'.
