cow pie
2
8.2
- noun
- /kaʊ paɪ/
- NSFW
:
boñiga
- If you mix cow pie with apple pie, it does not make the cow pie taste better; it makes the apple pie worse. --Mark Crislip
- stepped in a cow pie
And when the cows poop, right, it's called a cow pie or a cow dung.
- And when the cows poop, right, it's called a cow pie or a cow dung.
Examples
-
I've seen him dodge cow pies and on farm, but also, you know, walking down bullet ridden Street Parade St.
-
If you mix cow pie with apple pie, it does not make the cow pie taste better; it makes the apple pie worse. --Mark Crislip
Blog text (15) -
Dodge the 'cow pies' or perhaps even a few cattle nearby.
Academic text (2001) -
And when the cows poop, right, it's called a cow pie or a cow dung.
-
The other day, Ann Coulter stepped into a sacred cow pie for calling President Obama a "retard."
Blog text (31) -
He cannot predict when the next fresh cow pie is going to hit the ground, and that's going to be the next open resource which gets colonized by females.
-
"Then you're waist-deep in cow pies, ain't you?" But he didn't explain, and before Kayes could ask, he whispered.
Fiction book (1991) -
The mothers plunk down on the grass beside the mill, rubbing their arms, and we dash off, dodging cow pies, to gallop around the field and throw clumps of grass at each other.
Fiction book (2002) -
I just stepped on a cow pie while walking in the field.
-
We saw a number of cow pies scattered across the pasture.
Synonyms
3
2.6
A solid waste that cows make and people use as fertilizer or fuel
2
1.8
Dung from cows that people put on soil to help plants grow
1
8.0
A flat round pile of cow dung that lies on the ground
1
9.6
A flat dried piece of cow dung that people burn as fuel or throw in games
1
5.1
A flat round pile of cow dung found in fields
Surface Forms
Morphology
cow + pie
Although 'cow' clearly points to the animal, 'pie' normally denotes a baked dish, so a B1 learner who knows both words is unlikely to predict that the compound refers to cow feces; the sense is metaphorical and dialectal. However, there is a partial clue because English commonly forms compounds naming things associated with an animal (e.g. 'cowpat', 'horsefly'), so the meaning is somewhat inferable from context but not fully predictable without exposure.
Etymology
Cow pie comes from the sight of a round, flat pile left by a cow that looks a bit like a small pie in a field. That's why today cow pie simply means 'cow droppings'.