dog's-grass

A gardener pulls dog's-grass from a flower bed.

Definition

1. Noun (Botany):
   • A common name for a type of grass, specifically Elymus repens (also known as couch grass or quackgrass), characterized by its creeping rhizomes and often considered a weed in lawns and gardens. The term "dog's-grass" refers to this plant, which has long, narrow leaves and is known for its invasive growth.

Usage Examples

• (The gardener was referring to the invasive couch grass.)
• (The plant is sometimes utilized in traditional medicine.)

Advanced Usage

• "to be as tenacious as dog's-grass": an idiomatic comparison meaning to be persistent or difficult to remove.
  • Her determination was as tenacious as dog's-grass, refusing to be uprooted. (Her persistence was like the invasive grass.)

Variants and Related Words

• Dog-grass (n): an alternative spelling of dog's-grass.
  • The field was overrun with dog-grass, choking out the native plants. (The same plant under a different spelling.)

Synonyms

• Couch grass: a common synonym for dog's-grass, referring to the same plant.
• Quackgrass: another term for the same species, often used in North America.
• Twitch grass: a colloquial name for the plant, emphasizing its creeping growth habit.

Related Idioms

• "Dog's-grass": This term is not commonly used in idioms; it is primarily a botanical name. However, it may appear in folk sayings about hardiness.