buttercup

Everyday

A buttercup is a small wild plant with shiny, bright yellow cup-shaped flowers, common in fields and lawns. tree →

In the lessons

In science lessons buttercups are a common wildflower to identify on nature walks; they are mildly poisonous, so animals avoid them and children should not eat them. In everyday life children play a game: hold a buttercup under someone's chin, and if it glows yellow, «you like butter».

Examples

• The field was full of yellow buttercups. tree →
• Hold a buttercup under my chin! tree →
• Buttercups are poisonous, so don't eat them. tree →
• Cows leave the buttercups and eat the grass. tree →
• We counted the petals: this buttercup has five. tree →
• Buttercups open in the sunshine. tree →
• And the buttercups sparkled gayly, and looked again at Gerda. tree →

Note

Countable: buttercups. One word. The chin game is just fun: the yellow glow comes from light reflecting off the shiny petals, not from liking butter. A buttercup is a flower, not a cup of butter.