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Meaning of mare's fart | Babel Free

Noun CEFR B2

Definitions

  1. A nickname for a type of flower.
  2. Ragwort (Jacobaea vulgaris); see Citations.
  3. Alternative letter-case form of Mare's Fart.
    alt-of
  4. A nickname for other types of flowers including the fleabane and dandelion; see Citations.
  5. Something of no value, importance, or consequence whatsoever; a thing utterly not cared about.
    idiomatic, vulgar

Examples

“[...] ragwort posed the principle weed problem, many fields being heavily infested. The still-used local [name] of mare’s fart in adjacent North Shropshire and Cheshire [...] suggest how loathed the malodorous foliage is by cattle farmers.”
“Ragwort’s other [name] of ‘mare’s fart’ refer[s] to the sharp smell of the leaves, caused by alkaloids. These can cause liver damage to horses, but only if fed dried in fodder, as the sharp taste of the fresh plant deters horses in the field.”
“Today I want to talk about a stimulating plant that is known by such flattering aliases as “Stinking Ninny” and “Mare’s Fart". It's called ragwort, and although it is a flower, it's definitely not the type you want to give your wife on Valentine's Day.”
“Dating from the middle of the last century, the expression ‘like a fart in a colander’ is still in common use to indicate restlessness or any flustered aimless activity. So too, in some dialects the traditional name mare’s fart is still used for the plant otherwise known as fleabane.”
“The dandelion was long popularly known as the ‘pissabed’ because of its supposed diuretic properties, and other names in everyday use included mare’s fart, [...] open arse and bum-towel. One or two of these earthy appellations may unwittingly survive in English yet.”
“See also: give a damn, give a tinker's damn, give a rat's arse, give a fig”
“Your lamentation grieves me. See here, in the name of a mare’s fart! If my horse has fallen, why should I be blamed?”
“Andrew Lark deliberately avoided looking down at Nona, for that might suggest to her that he cared as much as a trotting mare’s fart what he thought of her fears.”
“I had no place to go, no one within twenty leagues who gave a brood mare’s fart if I lived […]”

CEFR level

B2
Upper Intermediate
This word is part of the CEFR B2 vocabulary — upper intermediate level.

See also

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