The Real Meaning of Dandelion

The “lobbyist” is wrong about the meaning of “dandelion.” The word is derived from the French phrase dent-de-lion, meaning “lion’s tooth.” It’s a reference to the jagged shape of the leaves.

I visited a town in the midwest that has an annual community celebration called Dandelion Day. I think it’s Carbondale, Illinois, but it was a long time ago and I forget. And I see that April 5th is National Dandelion Day.

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For more on the subject, look up “homonym” in the site search box on the right. It’s a somewhat tricky subject, involving spelling, pronunciation, and meaning. Here’s an example, sort of.

“Hyperbole” is the technical term for literary exaggeration, such as saying “huge” when “big” will do. Normally this figure of speech is one word, but you can use more than one word if you like:

I like the pun at the end. “Thesaurus” does rather sound like a dinosaur name.

You can refer to a whole group at once, or refer to it a part at a time. Those two usages require different words. Second panel:

“Everyone” refers to the whole group. I’m pretty sure she meant “anyone,” which refers to all the individuals in the department. I suppose in the third panel the speaker can get away with using “everyone.”

—A double one! They are correct when you need one, too. First panel.

In case you missed it, the uncontracted version is “should not have.”