Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

ants climbing a tree

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 3.55 in modern English

Syllables: ants -climb-ing a tree
IPA

24

Scrabble Score

17

Letters

3

Syllables

12

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A Sichuan dish of ground meat cooked in a sauce and poured over cellophane noodles.

Uncountable

noun

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see ants, climbing, a, tree.

Uncountable

Etymology

Calque of Chinese 螞蟻上樹 /蚂蚁上树 (mǎyǐshàngshù); the bits of ground meat clinging to the noodles evoke an image of ants walking on twigs.

Usage

Uncountable

Subject

Wiktionary places this term in Food.

Questions

What does ants climbing a tree mean?: A Sichuan dish of ground meat cooked in a sauce and poured over cellophane noodles.
Where does ants climbing a tree come from?: Calque of Chinese 螞蟻上樹 /蚂蚁上树 (mǎyǐshàngshù); the bits of ground meat clinging to the noodles evoke an image of ants walking on twigs.

How to pronounce ants climbing a tree

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