grasshopper

[gras-hop-er, grahs-] /ˈgræsˌhɒp ər, ˈgrɑs-/
noun
1.
any of numerous herbivorous, orthopterous insects, especially of the families Acrididae and Tettigoniidae, having the hind legs adapted for leaping and having chewing mouth parts, some species being highly destructive to vegetation.
Compare locust (def 1), long-horned grasshopper.
2.
a small, light airplane used on low-flying missions, as for reconnaissance.
3.
(initial capital letter) Military. a U.S. antipersonnel mine that jumps off the ground when activated by proximate body heat and sprays shrapnel over a lethal radius of 350 feet (107 meters).
4.
a cocktail of light cream, green crème de menthe, and white crème de menthe or crème de cacao.
Origin
1275-1325; Middle English; see grass, hopper
British Dictionary definitions for grasshopper

grasshopper

/ˈɡrɑːsˌhɒpə/
noun
1.
any orthopterous insect of the families Acrididae (short-horned grasshoppers) and Tettigoniidae (long-horned grasshoppers), typically terrestrial, feeding on plants, and producing a ticking sound by rubbing the hind legs against the leathery forewings See also locust (sense 1), katydid
2.
(informal) knee-high to a grasshopper, very young or very small
3.
an iced cocktail of equal parts of crème de menthe, crème de cacao, and cream
4.
(modifier) unable to concentrate on any one subject for long: a grasshopper mind
Word Origin and History for grasshopper
n.

mid-14c. (late 13c. as a surname), earlier greshoppe (c.1200), from Old English gærshoppa; see grass + hop. Cf. Middle Swedish gräshoppare, German Grashüpfer. As a term of reproach, from Eccl. xii:5. Also recorded c.1300 as a name for the hare.

Slang definitions & phrases for grasshopper

grasshopper

noun

A person who smokes marijuana; pothead: My wife was a little grasshopper herself. But she didn't go on to become an addict (1960s+ Narcotics)


grasshopper in the Bible

belongs to the class of neuropterous insects called Gryllidae. This insect is not unknown in Palestine. In Judg. 6:5; 7:12; Job 39:30; Jer. 46:23, where the Authorized Version has "grasshopper," the Revised Version more correctly renders the Hebrew word ('arbeh) by "locust." This is the case also in Amos 7:1; Nah. 3:17, where the Hebrew word _gob_ is used; and in Lev. 11:22; Num. 13:33; Eccl. 12:5; Isa. 40:22, where _hagab_ is used. In all these instances the proper rendering is probably "locust" (q.v.).

Idioms and Phrases with grasshopper

grasshopper

see: knee-high to a grasshopper