Search the Dictionary

ng up oyster from the bottom of the sea. -- Oyster fish. (Zoöl.) (a) The tautog. (b) The toadfish. -- Oyster plant. (Bot.) (a) A plant of the genus Tragopogon (T. porrifolius), the root of which, when cooked, somewhat resembles the oyster in taste; salsify; -- called also vegetable oyster. (b) A plant found on the se…

A toad or frog. Wyclif. "Loathed paddocks." Spenser Paddock pipe (Bot.), a hollow-stemmed plant of the genus Equisetum, especially E. limosum and the fruiting stems of E. arvense; -- called also padow pipe and toad pipe. See Equisetum. -- Paddock stone. See Toadstone. -- Paddock stool (Bot.),a toadstool.…

A paddock, or toad. Padow pipe. (Bot.) See Paddock pipe, under Paddock.

ich, or who lives at another's expense, and earns his welcome by flattery; a hanger-on; a toady; a sycophant. Thou, with trembling fear, Or like a fawning parasite, obey'st. Milton. Parasites were called such smell-feasts as would seek to be free guests at rich men's tables. Udall.

otid gland; -- applied especially to cutaneous glandular elevations above the ear in many toads and frogs. -- n.

Food; nourishment. [Obs.] Toads and frogs his pasture poisonous. Spenser.

The Surinam toad (Pipa Americana), noted for its peculiar breeding habits.

earliest spring. Pixy ring, a fairy ring or circle. [Prov. Eng.] -- Pixy stool (Bot.), a toadstool or mushroom. [Prov. Eng.]

ow-flowered weed; -- so named from a Mr. Ramsted who introduced it into Pennsylvania. See Toad flax. Called also Ramsted weed.

Of or pertaining to the frogs and toads.

ny grass of the genus Vilfa, grasses with wiry stems and one-flowered spikelets. -- Rush toad (Zoöl.), the natterjack. -- Scouring rush (Bot.) Same as Dutch rush, under Dutch. -- Spike rush, any rushlike plant of the genus Eleocharis, in which the flowers grow in dense spikes. -- Sweet rush, a sweet-scented grass o…

A large toadfish the Southern United States and the Gulf of Mexico (Batrachus tau, var. pardus).

lish Church. [Colloq.] -- Shovelspur (Zoöl.), a flat, horny process on the tarsus of some toads, -- used in burrowing. -- Steam shovel, a machine with a scoop or scoops, operated by a steam engine, for excavating earth, as in making railway cuttings.

hawk. (Zoöl.) See Chanting falcon, under Chanting. -- Singing fish (Zoöl.), a California toadfish (Porichthys porosissimus). -- Singing flame (Acoustics), a flame, as of hydrogen or coal gas, burning within a tube and so adjusted as to set the air within the tube in vibration, causing sound. The apparatus is called a…

Any species of burrowing toads of the genus Scaphiopus, esp. S. Holbrookii, of the Eastern United States; -- called also spade toad.

els; sitting close to the ground; cowering; crouching. Him there they found, Squat like a toad, close at the ear of Eve. Milton.

A Mexican spinous lizard (Phrynosoma orbiculare) having a head somewhat like that of a toad; -- called also horned toad.

The common American toadfish; -- so called from a marking resembling the Greek letter tau (t). Tau cross. See Illust. 6, of Cross.

California market fish (Sebastichthys serriceps). -- Tree frog. (Zoöl.) (a) Same as Tree toad. (b) Any one of numerous species of Old World frogs belonging to Chiromantis, Rhacophorus, and allied genera of the family Ranidæ. Their toes are furnished with suckers for adhesion. The flying frog (see under Flying) is an e…

A hanger-on to noblemen, or persons of quality, especially in English universities; a toady. See 1st Tuft, 3. [Cant, Eng.] Halliwell.