jenny-longlegs
Scottish common name for the cranefly -- the large, gangly flying insect known in England as daddy longlegs.
Definitions
Scottish common name for the cranefly -- the large, gangly flying insect known in England as daddy longlegs. The cranefly is notorious for its clumsy flight and tendency to blunder helplessly into houses. Scottish regional names for it reflect both the long-legged physical appearance and the traditional habit of assigning female personal names to this insect, as in the parallel 'jenny wren'.
She screamed when a jenny-longlegs got tangled in her hair near the lamp.
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Scottish term for the cranefly — the long-legged, spindly flying insect that blunders around rooms and terrifies people far out of proportion to its actual harmlessness. In England it's called a daddy-longlegs; in Scotland jenny-longlegs is the preferred form. Jenny is a traditional diminutive female name used in many British animal nicknames. Either way, it's a large, ungainly insect that nobody wants landing on their face.
A jenny-longlegs got into the bedroom and he spent ten minutes trying to catch it before it escaped.
Comments
(Scotland) A cranefly.
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