billion-dollar grass
- noun
- US
:
grama de mil millones de dólares
- Farmers have started planting billion-dollar grass as an alternative crop for both forage and grain.
Examples
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Wild turkeys and other birds feed on the seeds of billion-dollar grass throughout the winter.
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Farmers in Asia cultivate billion-dollar grass for its seeds.
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Because billion-dollar grass is drought-resistant, it is popular in areas with unpredictable rainfall.
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The billion-dollar grass is popular among wildlife enthusiasts.
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Because billion-dollar grass is drought-resistant, it is popular in areas with unpredictable rainfall.
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Farmers have started planting billion-dollar grass as an alternative crop for both forage and grain.
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Wild turkeys and other birds feed on the seeds of billion-dollar grass throughout the winter.
Synonyms
A grass grown in Asia for its small edible seeds and for animal feed
A coarse grass grown each year for grain and to feed animals
A rough grass people grow each year for its seeds and animal feed
A grass grown for its seeds and animal feed
Surface Forms
Morphology
billion-dollar + grass
This is a lexicalized common name for a plant; a B1 learner who knows 'billion', 'dollar' and 'grass' would most likely interpret it as grass worth a billion dollars or unusually valuable, which does not match the botanical meaning. The actual referent (a specific coarse annual grass cultivated for seeds/forage) is not derivable from the literal constituents, so the expression is idiomatic and unpredictable.
Etymology
Billion-dollar grass may come from the idea that this grass is so useful and valuable that it is like a plant 'worth a lot'. That's why the name is used today for a coarse annual grass grown for edible seeds and for animal feed.
