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Glite Dictionary
stinky squid

stinky squid

9.9
A small mushroom that looks like a squid and smells bad to attract flies
  • noun
  • /ˈstɪŋki skwɪd/
  • Specialized
translation icon : calamar apestoso
  • The stinky squid releases a foul odor to attract insects for spore dispersal.

Examples

  • The stinky squid is often found in damp forests.

  • The forest floor was dotted with the bizarre stinky squid after last night's rain.

  • Botanists stumbled upon a rare stinky squid during their survey of the region.

  • Have you ever seen a stinky squid in the wild?

  • The stinky squid releases a foul odor to attract insects for spore dispersal.

  • The forest floor was dotted with the bizarre stinky squid after last night's rain.

  • Botanists stumbled upon a rare stinky squid during their survey of the region.

Synonyms

Pseudocolus fusiformis
vsstinky squid
  • Specialized
9.9

A mushroom that first looks like a ball and then opens into a stalk with arms meeting at a point

is the genus-level type rather than that single species

Surface Forms

stinky squid singular
stinky squids plural

Morphology

stinky + squid

The constituents 'stinky' (smelly) and 'squid' (marine animal) give a clear cue that the referent is smelly and squid-like, so learners will infer odor and shape. However, the actual meaning — a species of stinkhorn fungus — is not directly derivable from those words (it is not an actual squid), so the referent and taxonomic category remain unpredictable without prior exposure.

Etymology

The name stinky squid comes from a smelly mushroom that first looks like a small ball and then grows long, narrow arms like a squid. The fungus gives off a bad smell to 'attract insects' that help it spread, so the name links stinky and squid and explains why it means a smelly, squid-shaped fungus.