mole cricket
- noun
- /moʊl ˈkrɪkɪt/
:
grillo topo
- While digging in the garden, I found a mole cricket burrowed deep beneath the surface.
Examples
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To control the population of mole crickets, farmers often use traps that catch them in moist soil.
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- Why did you write about mole crickets? - Why not?
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The gardener noticed that the mole cricket was damaging the roots of his favorite plants.
Synonyms
73
1.3
A small jumping insect whose male makes a chirping sound by rubbing its wings together
How Big
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound 'mole cricket' straightforwardly combines 'mole' (a digging mammal) with 'cricket' (an insect) to denote a cricket that digs or has mole-like burrowing habits; the meaning is directly inferable from the constituents. This noun‑noun composition follows a common productive pattern across languages, so a B1 learner who knows both words would very likely understand the intended referent.
Etymology
Mole cricket gets its name from two clear images: it 'digs' with strong front legs like a mole, and it is a kind of cricket that can chirp. So, the name reminds you that a mole cricket is a large 'burrowing' insect that digs in the soil and eats plant roots.