beggar's lice
- noun
- US
:
pulgón
- The shrubby hazelnut and highbush blueberry grow above such wildflowers as Indian physic, yellow loosestrife, and round-leaved beggar's-lice.
Examples
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I had to pick off several beggar's lice from my dog's fur after our walk in the park.
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After hiking through the woods, I found beggar's lice stuck to my backpack.
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The gardener warned me to watch out for beggar's lice as they can cling to clothes and shoes.
Synonyms
Small sticky seeds that cling to animal fur or clothes
A plant with sticky seeds that cling to fur or clothing
A small plant with tiny prickly seeds that stick to clothes or animal fur
A plant with yellow flowers and small prickly fruits that stick to fur or clothing
A plant with yellow flowers and prickly seeds that stick to clothes and fur
A plant that grows in wet places with yellow flowers and seeds that stick to clothes
A plant with three small leaves and sticky pods that cling to clothes or animals
An upright plant that lives for many years and grows in dry grassy places
Surface Forms
Morphology
beggar's + louse
The compound uses a metaphorical possessive: 'lice' evokes tiny clinging creatures and 'beggar's' suggests attachment to a person's clothing, so a learner could infer something that sticks to clothes. However, the exact referent—a plant with sticky/prickly seeds—is a figurative extension rather than a directly compositional meaning, so the sense is only partially predictable without prior exposure.
Etymology
Beggar's lice may come from the plant's tiny, sticky seeds that cling to clothes and animal fur. People pictured the seeds like lice on a beggar's clothing, so the name now means a plant whose seeds easily 'stick' to clothing or fur.
