Mexican jumping bean

Mexican jumping bean


Origin:
1880–85
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Mexican jumping bean is always a great word to know.
So is callithumpian. Does it mean:
a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.
a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia

Mexican jumping bean

the seed of certain Mexican shrubs, especially those of the genus Sebastiania, of the spurge family (Euphorbiaceae), that contain larvae of a small olethreutid moth (Laspeyresia salitans). The movements of the larvae feeding on the pulp within the seed, which are intensified by warmth, give the seed the familiar jumping movement

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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