Dictionary.com

cuckoo-spit

[ koo-koo-spit, kook-oo- ]
/ ˈku kuˌspɪt, ˈkʊk u- /

noun

Also called frog spit. a frothy secretion found on plants, exuded by the young of certain insects, as the froghoppers, and serving as a protective covering.
an insect that produces this secretion.

QUIZZES

BECOME A PRO CHEF WITH THIS EXQUISITE CUISINE QUIZ!

Even if you can't be a professional chef, you can at least talk like one with this vocabulary quiz.
Question 1 of 9
You may have read the word "simmer" in a recipe or two, but what does it really mean?
To cook in water that begins cold and then reaches a boil.
To stew in a sauce for a long time.
To cook in water, just below boiling temperature.
TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of cuckoo-spit

1350–1400; Middle English cokkowespitle cuckoopint; so called from the spitlike secretion found on the plant and thought to be left by the bird
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

British Dictionary definitions for cuckoo-spit

cuckoo spit

noun

a white frothy mass on the stems and leaves of many plants, produced by froghopper larvae (cuckoo spit insects) which feed on the plant juicesAlso called: frog spit
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012