old man of the mountain
- noun
- Specialized
:
mujer vieja de la montaña
- Botanists study the old man of the mountain to learn how it thrives in harsh mountain climates.
Examples
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The old man of the mountain is admired for its striking yellow blooms each spring.
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We spotted an old man of the mountain while hiking in the Rockies.
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The old man of the mountain blooms in late summer.
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Many hikers admire the old man of the mountain for its beauty.
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Botanists study the old man of the mountain to learn how it thrives in harsh mountain climates.
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The old man of the mountain is admired for its striking yellow blooms each spring.
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We spotted an old man of the mountain while hiking in the Rockies.
Synonyms
A small wild plant with feathery leaves and large yellow flower heads that grows in north-central US mountains
A mountain plant with feathery leaves and one large yellow flower on a hairy stem
A wildflower that grows on mountains and has large yellow daisy-like flowers in the north central United States
Surface Forms
Morphology
old + man + of + the + mountain
This is a conventional common-name for a plant, so its sense as ‘a hairy, yellow-flowered mountain plant’ cannot be predicted from the literal parts 'old' + 'man' + 'of the mountain'; a B1 learner who knows the words would more likely imagine an elderly man living on a mountain. The meaning is lexicalized and culturally specific rather than compositionally derived, so prior exposure is required to map the phrase to the plant referent.
Etymology
Old man of the mountain gets its name from the plant's fluffy white tops that look like an old man's beard sitting on a mountain. So, that picture of a bearded old man on a mountain helps you remember this yellow mountain flower with hairy, feathery tops.
