railroad worm
- noun
- /ˈreɪlˌrɔrd wɜrm/
- US
:
gusano del ferrocarril
- If you slice a damaged apple, you may find a railroad worm inside the fruit.
Examples
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The railroad worm damages apples by boring into them.
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The orchard lost much of its apple crop to the railroad worm infestation last year.
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Farmers monitor their trees closely for signs of railroad worm damage every harvest season.
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Farmers often find railroad worms in their orchards.
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The railroad worm is often found inside apples, where it feeds on the fruit.
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Farmers often warn about the damage caused by the larva known as the railroad worm.
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To prevent infestations, it is important to monitor for railroad worms in apple orchards.
Synonyms
1
7.2
A small white worm that bores into apples and eats the inside
A small fly whose young, called apple maggots, grow inside and eat apples
A baby insect that eats fruit and damages crops
Surface Forms
Morphology
railroad + worm
While 'worm' transparently signals an insect or larva, the modifier 'railroad' gives no clear cue to the specific sense 'larva of certain beetles that bores into apples' and would more likely lead a learner to infer a location-related meaning (a worm found near railroads). The compound is a conventional common name whose specific referent is arbitrary and not predictable from its parts, so a B1 learner knowing the constituents would not reliably derive the intended meaning.
Etymology
Railroad worm may come from the way the little worm makes long dark 'tunnels' through an apple that look like a railroad track. So the name points to the larva that lives inside and ruins the fruit.