fish fuddle
- noun
- Specialized
:
piscidia
- The locals used the bark of the fish fuddle to poison fish in shallow waters.
Examples
-
In botanical gardens, the fish fuddle attracts attention with its unique curly seedpods.
-
The fish fuddle grows abundantly in Florida.
-
The wood from the fish fuddle is sometimes used in traditional crafts in the Caribbean.
-
Have you ever seen a fish fuddle in bloom?
-
The locals used the bark of the fish fuddle to poison fish in shallow waters.
-
In botanical gardens, the fish fuddle attracts attention with its unique curly seedpods.
-
Have you ever seen a fish fuddle in bloom?
Synonyms
A small tree from the Caribbean and Florida with red-striped flowers and winged seedpods used to make fish poison
A small Caribbean and Florida tree with divided leaves, purple flowers, and seedpods used to stun fish
A small tree with large leaves and attractive flowers whose bark fishermen use to stun fish
Surface Forms
Morphology
fish + fuddle
The compound 'fish fuddle' names a specific plant species, and the constituent 'fish' (an animal) gives no cues to a tree; the second element 'fuddle' is unattested/unknown and therefore not interpretable by learners. As a vernacular, lexicalized plant name the meaning cannot be compositionally derived from the parts, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents would not infer the tree meaning.
Etymology
Fish fuddle probably comes from the tree's old use to stun fish. One popular story says people used the bark or seeds to 'fuddle' fish, that is 'stun' them so they floated and could be taken, so the words fish and fuddle became the plant's name.
