spittle : Idioms & Phrases

Index

Cuckoo spit, ∨ Cuckoo spittle

  • . (a) A frothy secretion found upon plants, exuded by the larvae of certain insects, for concealment; called also toad spittle and frog spit. (b) (Zoöl.) A small hemipterous insect, the larva of which, living on grass and the leaves of plants, exudes this secretion. The insects belong to Aphrophora, Helochara, and allied genera.
Webster 1913

lick-spittle

Lick"-spit`tle noun
Definitions
  1. An abject flatterer or parasite. Theodore Hook.
Webster 1913

Spittle insect

  • noun small leaping herbivorous insect that lives in a mass of protective froth which it and its larvae secrete
    spittlebug.
WordNet
  • . (Zoöl.) See Cuckoo spit (b), under Cuckoo.
Webster 1913

To lick the spittle of

  • to fawn upon. South.
Webster 1913

Toad spittle

  • . (Zoöl.) See Cuckoo spit, under Cuckoo.
Webster 1913