Cactus vs Penguin - What's the difference?
cactus | penguin |
(botany) Any member of the family Cactaceae, a family of flowering New World succulent plants suited to a hot, semi-desert climate.
Any succulent plant with a thick fleshy stem bearing spines but no leaves, including euphorbs.
(Australia, NZ, slang) Non-functional, broken, exhausted.
* {{quote-newsgroup, title=TV Problems
, group=aus.electronics
, author=Dave
, date=July 8
, year=2001
, passage=I wouldn't mind throwing it away if it's cactus except for the VCR part which works fine, so then I'd be up for a new VCR as well.
* {{quote-newsgroup, title=water damage ???
, group=alt.cellular.nokia
, author=AC
, date=August 25
, year=2004
, passage=I would say it's cactus . Water conducts & destroys components & PCBs very easily. Hence the water-resistant phones.
* 2009 , Will Chaffey, Swimming with Crocodiles: An Australian Adventure ,
Any of several flightless sea birds, of order Sphenisciformes , found in the Southern Hemisphere; marked by their usual upright stance, walking on short legs, and (generally) their stark black and white plumage.
* 1638 , (Thomas Herbert), Some Yeares Travels , I:
(slang) A nun (because of the black and white habit).
(juggling) A type of catch where the palm of the hand is facing towards the leg with the arm stretched downward, resembling the flipper of a penguin.
(botany) A spiny bromeliad with egg-shaped fleshy fruit, .
In botany terms the difference between cactus and penguin
is that cactus is any member of the family Cactaceae, a family of flowering New World succulent plants suited to a hot, semi-desert climate while penguin is a spiny bromeliad with egg-shaped fleshy fruit, species: Bromelia pinguin.As an adjective cactus
is non-functional, broken, exhausted.cactus
English
Noun
Usage notes
In modern English, the term cactus' properly refers to plants belonging to the family Cactaceae. With one exception, all are native to the New World (the Americas). The sole exception is , a jungle epiphyte found in tropical Africa, Madagascar, and Sri Lanka, as well as North and South America. Informally, '''cactus is used to refer to any stem ''succulent'' adapted to a dry climate, notably species from genus ''Euphorbia with forms reminiscent of Cactaceae. To be precise, these succulents are correctly described as "cactoid" or "cactiform" unless they are actual members of the Cactaceae.Hypernyms
* (member of Cactaceae) succulentHyponyms
* (member of Cactaceae) nopal, saguaroDerived terms
* barrel cactus * beehive cactus * bird's nest cactus * cactus cat * cactuslike * cactus wren * compass cactus * crown cactus * dumpling cactus * feather cactus * finger cactus * fishhook cactus * foxtail cactus * hedgehog cactus * horse crippler cactus * ladyfinger cactus * mistletoe cactus * nipple cactus * noncactus * old lady cactus * orchid cactus * organ pipe cactus * pencil cactus * Rainbow cactus * rattail cactus * strawberry cactus * thimble cactus * willow cactus, willow-cactusAdjective
(-)citation
citation
page 108,
- ‘It?s cactus ,’ Rod, the helicopter pilot, said at the sound of the piston ring shattering.
See also
* succulent * (Cactus) * English nouns with irregular plurals ----penguin
English
Noun
(en noun)- Here are also birds cal'd Pen-gwins'' (white-head in ''Welch ) like Pigmies walking upright, their finns or wings hanging very orderly downe like sleeves [...].
