toadstool
pronunciation
How to pronounce toadstool in British English:
UK [ˈtəʊdstu:l]
How to pronounce toadstool in American English:
US [ˈtoʊdstul]
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- Noun:
- common name for an inedible or poisonous agaric (contrasting with the edible mushroom)
Word Origin
- toadstool (n.)
- late 14c., apparently just what it looks like: a fanciful name from Middle English tadde "toad" (see toad) + stole "stool" (see stool). Toads themselves were regarded as highly poisonous, and this word is "popularly restricted to poisonous or inedible fungi, as distinct from edible "mushrooms" [OED]. Compare toad-cheese, a poisonous fungi; toad's meat (1886), a "rustic" term for toadstool.
Example
- 1. Don 't eat it . It might be a toadstool .
- 2. But he would never love a toadstool .
- 3. They sniff mold they drink methylated spirits and jaws toadstool .
- 4. I wouldn 't dare pick wild mushrooms in case I got a toadstool by mistake .
- 5. Younger scout : " how can I tell the difference between a mushroom and a toadstool ? "