butter-and-eggs

American  

[buht-er-uhn-egz] / ˈbʌt ər ənˈɛgz /

noun

(used with a singular or plural verb)

1. any of certain plants whose flowers are of two shades of yellow, as the toadflax, Linaria vulgaris.

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butter-and-eggs British  

noun

1. (functioning as singular) any of various plants, such as toadflax, the flowers of which are of two shades of yellow

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• butter-and-eggs
  plural

Etymology

Origin of butter-and-eggs

First recorded in 1770–80

Example Sentences

But that was changing: He pointed to butter-and-eggs, oxeye daisies, bellflowers, tufted vetch, hemp nettle, spotted jewelweed, creeping Charlie, common tansy, orange hawkweed.

From New York Times • Jul. 28, 2021

The hues of wild flowers vary with their situation: in shady woodlands the toadflax or butter-and-eggs is often pale—a sulphur colour; upon the Downs it is a deep and beautiful yellow.

From Round About a Great Estate by Jefferies, Richard

I am always sure when I see bouncing-bet, butter-and-eggs, and tawny lilies growing in a tangle together that in their midst may be found an untrodden door-stone, a fallen chimney, or a filled-in well.

From Home Life in Colonial Days by Earle, Alice Morse

Unlike its relative butter-and-eggs, the corolla of this toadflax is so contracted that bees cannot enter it; but by inserting their long tongues, they nevertheless manage to drain it.

From Wild Flowers An Aid to Knowledge of Our Wild Flowers and Their Insect Visitors by Blanchan, Neltje

It is probably called "butter-and-eggs" because of the two shades of yellow.

From Woodcraft or, How a Patrol Leader Made Good by Douglas, Alan