Meaning & use
beggar lice
Last updated
Meanings
noununcountableregional
A common name for various plants with small, hooked seeds that stick to clothes and animal fur.
Grammar: Usually treated as uncountable when naming the plant or its seeds; it does not take 'a'.
Patterns
- beggar lice seeds
- covered in beggar lice
We walked through the field and came back covered in beggar lice.
The dog's fur was full of beggar lice after running in the woods.
nounpluralregional
The small, barbed seed pods of such plants, which cling tightly to clothing or fur.
Grammar: Often used as a plural when referring to the individual seeds: 'beggar lice stuck to my socks.'
Patterns
- pick beggar lice off something
- beggar lice stuck to something
I spent an hour picking beggar lice off my jacket.
These beggar lice are hard to remove from wool.
Common combinations
- covered in beggar lice
- After the hike, his pants were covered in beggar lice.
- pick beggar lice off
- She sat on the porch picking beggar lice off her sleeves.
- beggar lice seeds
- The beggar lice seeds are tiny and stick to everything.
Synonyms and how they differ
- stickseed
- A more general name for plants with clinging seeds; beggar lice is a regional folk name for some of them.
- bur
- A seed or fruit with hooks or prickles; bur is broader and includes many plants, while beggar lice names specific ones.
Commonly confused: beggar lice or beggar's lice?
beggar lice vs beggar's lice
Some people write it with an apostrophe, but the common plant name is usually spelled without one: beggar lice.
Practice
After walking through the tall grass, we were covered in ___.
Choose one answer.
Beggar lice is the standard form and is uncountable or plural in this sense. 'A beggar lice' is wrong because it is not singular countable, and 'beggar lices' is not a real plural.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “beggar lice”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.