shot berry
n.— «I spoke to Paul Vossen, Sonoma County farm adviser, about your question. He says that your olives are producing what is known as “shot berries,” tiny fruit that isn’t pollinated and then drops from the tree. The most likely reason for this is that the trees lack a pollinizer.» —“Golden Gate Gardener: Barren olive trees may need pollen or more water” by Pam Peirce SFGate (San Francisco, Chronicle) Feb. 6, 2009. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Up Your Alley (episode #1504) 07/30/2018: Book recommendations, including a collection of short stories inspired by dictionaries, and a techno-thriller for teens. Or, how about novels with an upbeat message? Publishers... [more]
Piping Hot (episode #1503) 07/23/2018: The game of baseball has alway inspired colorful commentary. Sometimes that means using familiar words in unfamiliar ways. The word stuff, for example, can refer... [more]
Mimeographs and Dittos (episode #1502) 06/24/2018: In this episode: How colors got their names, and a strange way to write. The terms blue and orange arrived in English via French, so... [more]
Spicy Jambalaya 06/18/2018: Teen slang from the South, and food words that are tricky to pronounce. • High schoolers in Huntsville, Alabama, told Martha and Grant about their... [more]
Chopped Liver 06/10/2018: There's a proverb that goes "beloved children have many names." At least, that's true when it comes to the names we give our pets. "Fluffy"... [more]
You must log in to post a comment.