devil's tongue
- noun
- Indian
:
lengua del diablo
- Some people grow devil's tongue for its unusual appearance and edible corms.
Examples
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The greenhouse displayed a rare devil's tongue with its impressive dark red spathe.
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The foul odor emitted by the devil's tongue attracts pollinators in its native habitat.
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The devil's tongue plant thrives in humid conditions.
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Many gardeners love the devil's tongue for its unique appearance.
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Some people grow devil's tongue because of its unique look and tasty corms.
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The devil's tongue plant is known for its large leaves and foul smell, which helps attract pollinators.
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In botanical gardens, the devil's tongue is prized for its striking dark red spathe and edible roots.
Synonyms
A tropical plant with a strong smell, a large dark red flower and edible underground bulbs
A tropical plant with large leaves, a dark red flower-like part, and edible underground stems
A tropical plant with large leaves and a dark red flower sheath grown for its edible underground stems or decoration
Surface Forms
Morphology
devil's + tongue
The elements 'devil's' (suggesting something ominous or unpleasant) plus 'tongue' (a shape metaphor) give a B1 learner a vague image—perhaps a nasty or tongue-shaped item—but do not uniquely identify a tropical plant with a foul odor and edible corms. The specific botanical meaning and details are lexicalized and not fully predictable from the constituents, so the expression is only partially transparent.
Etymology
Devil's tongue may come from the plant's big dark part that looks like a long tongue and its very bad smell that people long ago thought came from the 'devil'. So, the name came to mean this strange-looking plant with an unpleasant smell.
