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

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

The pink lychnis or ragged robin grows among the grasses; the iris flowers higher on the shore.

From The Hills and the Vale by Jefferies, Richard

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

From Nancy by Broughton, Rhoda

She passed over the tiny bridge where the brook crosses the field, and gathered a bunch of wild flowers, meadowsweet and harebells, water forget-me-nots and ragged robin, and made a pretty nosegay.

From Fairy Tales from the German Forests by Arndt, Margaret

The river had lazily flowed past banks gaily decorated with timid forget-me-nots and purple veitch; the ragged robin had looked roguishly from the hedge.

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