ragged robin

American  

noun

1. a plant, Lychnis flos-cuculi, of the pink family, having pink or white flowers with dissected petals.

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ragged robin British  

noun

1. Also called: cuckooflower.  a caryophyllaceous plant, Lychnis floscuculi , native to Europe and Asia, that has pink or white flowers with ragged petals See also catchfly

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Etymology

Origin of ragged robin

First recorded in 1735–45

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ragged robin

They went slowly along the foot of the bank, pushing in and out of the clumps of red campion and ragged robin.

From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams

Forget-me-nots jewelled the banks; ragged robin looked roguishly from, clumps of bushes; the scent of hay seemed to fill the world.

From Sparrows: the story of an unprotected girl by Horace W. C. (Horace Wykeham Can) Newte

Once the road from Eltham to Woolwich was a grassy lane with hedges and big trees in the hedges, and wild pinks and Bethlehem stars, and ragged robin and campion.

From Wings and the Child or, the Building of Magic Cities by E. (Edith) Nesbit

The billowy meadow-grass, the tall red sorrel, the untidy, ragged robin, all the yearly-recurring May miracles!

From Nancy by Rhoda Broughton

Hawthorn was dropping from the hedges; penny daisies and ragged robin were in the field, like laughter.

From Sons and Lovers by D. H. (David Herbert) Lawrence