cuckoo-spit

American  

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

noun

1. 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.

2. an insect that produces this secretion.

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cuckoo spit British  

noun

1. Also called: frog spit.  a white frothy mass on the stems and leaves of many plants, produced by froghopper larvae ( cuckoo spit insects ) which feed on the plant juices

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Etymology

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

Example Sentences

I have frequently heard it called frog-spit, cuckoo-spit, toad-spit, and sheep-spit, and doubtless many other local terms of the same sort may be found.

From Eye Spy Afield with Nature Among Flowers and Animate Things by Gibson, W. Hamilton (William Hamilton)

After sojourning for a time in the cuckoo-spit, the frog-hopper becomes a winged insect.

From The Outline of Science, Vol. 1 (of 4) A Plain Story Simply Told by Thomson, J. Arthur

Happily our periodical blight is expiring, like cuckoo-spit, in its own bubbles; and the time is returning when the bottle-blister will not be accepted as the good ripe peach.

From Springhaven : a Tale of the Great War by Blackmore, R. D. (Richard Doddridge)

Oh, I imagine it— Married to Robin, by a fat hedge-priest Under an altar of hawthorn, with a choir Of sparrows, and a spray of cuckoo-spit For holy water!

From Collected Poems Volume Two by Noyes, Alfred

They call it cuckoo-spit, from its plentiful appearance about the arrival of that bird.

From The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction Volume 20, No. 558, July 21, 1832 by Various