Yorkshire fog
- noun
- /ˈjɔrkʃɪr fɔg/
- UK
:
hierba de Yorkshire
- The field was covered with Yorkshire fog, creating a soft, silvery carpet in the early morning light.
Examples
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We learned to identify Yorkshire fog by its velvety stems and distinctive flowering heads.
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Farmers often use Yorkshire fog as forage for livestock.
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Farmers often plant Yorkshire fog because it provides reliable forage for livestock.
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The Yorkshire fog grows abundantly in damp areas.
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Farmers often plant Yorkshire fog because it provides reliable forage for livestock.
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We learned to identify Yorkshire fog by its velvety stems and distinctive flowering heads.
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The Yorkshire fog grows abundantly in damp areas.
Synonyms
A tall grass with soft stems from Europe often used to feed cows
A tall grass with soft stems grown for animal food
How Tall
Surface Forms
Morphology
Yorkshire + fog
Although the constituents are 'Yorkshire' (a place) and 'fog' (commonly 'mist'), the MWE denotes a species of grass; this botanical sense comes from a dialectal/archaic meaning of 'fog' (grass) that B1 learners will not know. The literal parts therefore do not compose to the actual meaning, making the expression unpredictable for learners who only know the common senses.
Etymology
Yorkshire fog got its name because the grass makes fields in Yorkshire look like a soft fog when it flowers, with a pale, silky cover across the land. So the name now means 'a tall grass used as animal feed'.