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

He gambolled along, smelling and rooting among the ragged robin and starwort in the hedges like an unbroken collie.

From The Lilac Sunbonnet by Crockett, S. R. (Samuel Rutherford)

And that's London pride, and that's ragged robin.

From The Damnation of Theron Ware by Frederic, Harold

Paul came back and threaded daisies in her jet-black hair—big spangles of white and yellow, and just a pink touch of ragged robin.

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

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