stinking mayweed
- noun
- UK
- She recognized stinking mayweed by its white petals and the unpleasant smell when the leaves were crushed.
Examples
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Farmers often try to remove stinking mayweed from their crops due to its strong odor and invasive nature.
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The pungent scent of stinking mayweed filled the abandoned field in midsummer.
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The garden was overrun with stinking mayweed.
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I noticed stinking mayweed growing near the fence.
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Farmers often try to remove stinking mayweed from their crops due to its strong odor and invasive nature.
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She recognized stinking mayweed by its white petals and the unpleasant smell when the leaves were crushed.
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The pungent scent of stinking mayweed filled the abandoned field in midsummer.
Synonyms
A common wild plant with white flowers and a strong bad smell that grows as a weed
A common weed with white flowers, yellow centers and a strong bad smell
A common plant with white daisy-like flowers, yellow centers, and a strong smell
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is a literal adjective + noun combination: 'stinking' specifies a strong odor and 'mayweed' names the plant, so together they denote a mayweed that smells foul. This meaning is directly predictable from the constituents and follows a common compositional pattern, so a B1 learner knowing both words would understand it.
Etymology
Stinking mayweed gets its name from a simple picture: the plant smells very bad, so people called it stinking, and because it often blooms in May they called it mayweed. That's why the name means 'a strong-smelling weed'.