Why is a grass called a grass?

Category: home and garden landscaping
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The origin derives from rhyming slang: grasshopper - copper; a 'grass' or 'grasser' tells the 'copper' or policeman." That comes only a few years after the term grass was coined and there seems little reason to doubt it as the derivation.



Also question is, why is an informer called a grass?

The use of “grass” as British slang for a police informer dates back to the 1930s, and is apparently a short form of the slang term “grasshopper,” meaning the same thing. “Snitch” meaning “informer” is indeed an older word, dating back to the late 18th century.

Also Know, what does Im not a grass mean? Grass as a Verb "To grass" on someone or some group is to be an informer. If you witness a crime that has nothing to do with anyone you know and then give evidence to the police, you are just a witness, not a grass; you are giving evidence, not grassing. Grassing is about betraying your peers by acting as an informer.

Also to know, what does it mean to be called a grass?

If you watch British police procedurals, you'll likely come across the term to grass someone, meaning “to inform on someone” or “to rat someone out.” It's a bit of British rhyming slang that originated with the 19th-century phrase to shop on someone.

What does your wife is a grass mean?

grass widow. noun. A woman who is divorced or separated from her husband. A woman whose husband is temporarily absent. An abandoned mistress.

23 Related Question Answers Found

Is grassing wrong?

No, no, no, no, 'grassing' is NOT wrong. People will say, “I ain't a grass” when asked for help to stop the bullies and perpetrators of crimes, which lets them carry on with their crime wave producing yet more victims. Victims of not only the bully but also the person who won't 'grass'.

What does grass mean in Ireland?

The use of “grass” as British slang for a police informer dates back to the 1930s, and is apparently a short form of the slang term “grasshopper,” meaning the same thing. So, in other words…

What do you call a snitch?

snitch. To snitch is to tattle on someone, and a snitch is someone who tattles. If you snitch on your brother when he "borrows" five dollars without asking, he might call you a snitch — but, on the bright side, he'll probably have to pay you back.

Who invented the word grass?

Grass is less intuitive. It could just have arisen from 'snake in the grass', which derives from the writings of Virgil (in Latin, as 'latet anguis in herba') and has been known in English, meaning traitor, since the late 17th century. There is another route to the word and this is via rhyming slang.

What does it mean to grass someone up?


1. to tell someone in authority, especially the police, about something bad that someone else has done.

What does grass feed on?

Grass-fed animals do eat a wide variety of grasses, including bluegrass, ryegrass, bermudagrass, fescue, Timothy grass, foxtail, sorghum, bromegrass, orchardgrass, quackgrass, and canarygrass. But grass-fed animals may also eat a wide variety of other plants.

Is snitch a slang word?

Snitch is slang and is defined as to steal or tattle.

Why do we need grass?

Grasses remove about six tons of carbon dioxide per acre, per year from the atmosphere. Without grass, the carbon sequestration processes won't occur, and your carbon footprint will grow bigger. Grass also plays a vital role in capturing dust, smoke particles and other pollutants that harm people.

What does it mean to inform on someone?

inform on (someone)
To share or reveal compromising information about someone, usually to the authorities. If you inform on him to the cops, he'll definitely send some of his goons out after you.

What is smoking grass mean?


The Cannabis (called "pot," "weed," "grass," etc.) is typically spread on rolling papers and formed into a cigarette, often referred to as a joint, or a cigar-like blunt. Smoking releases the THC, which is absorbed into the blood stream through the lungs. Cannabis can be taken in liquid form, by brewing it as a tea.

What is grass made of?

It is made up of basic elements, carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, and phosphorus. As it goes through the process of photosynthesis, it also contains chlorophyll and cellulose. The two main components of grass are water and lignin.

Why is grass so important?

Grass plants develop fruit called grain which feed much of the world and yet have green leaves and stems not digestible for humans that are the main food source for animals. Grasses can also be used for building materials, medicines, and biomass fuels.

What are the characteristics of a grass?

Identification: Characteristics of Grasses
Grasses have narrow leaves with parallel veins and small, inconspicuous flowers. Stems are usually round and have visible bulges or joints where the leaves attach (nodes). They are usually hollow except at the nodes.

Can you get high from grass?

Along with the usual list of benzenes and other carcinogens, lawn fertilizers are chemicals that mutate DNA to kill weeds yet keep grass alive. Your friends are not getting high, they're burning brain cells. Grass doesn't mean lawn.

What is the use of grass?


Uses for graminoids include food (as grain, sprouted grain, shoots or rhizomes), drink (beer, whisky), pasture for livestock, thatching thatch, paper, fuel, clothing, insulation, construction, sports turf, basket weaving and many others. Many grasses are short, but some grasses, like bamboo can grow very tall.

Where did grass come from?

Without trees, grasses sprouted naturally just like they do in fields and clearings today. The word lawn actually comes from the Middle English word launde, which meant a “glade or opening in the woods” where grasses were exposed to sunlight and allowed to run wild.

How does grass grow?

At the base of the grass plant, roots grow down into the earth. Typically, grass roots are fibrous, or threadlike. They extend into the soil like fingers, collecting nutrients, soaking up water and securing the plant to the ground. Grass stems, called culms, grow up from the base of the plant (the crown).