painted cup
noun
any of several semiparasitic plants of the genus Castilleja, of the figwort family, having highly colored dilated bracts about the flowers.
Origin of painted cup
1First recorded in 1780–90
- Also called paintbrush.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use painted cup in a sentence
I sat at the head of the last table, drank yellow wine out of a painted cup and ate half a swine all by myself.
The Russian Grandmother's Wonder Tales | Louise Seymour HoughtonFor who e'er drank without alloy, From the painted cup of joy?
Withered Leaves from Memory's Garland | Abigail Stanley HannaThe bright flame of the painted cup and the purple of the asters still lighted up the aisles of the pines in sheltered places.
The Spirit of Sweetwater | Hamlin GarlandRed Feather is also good but painted cup is rather poor, as there is nothing cup-like about the flower.
Field Book of Western Wild Flowers | Margaret ArmstrongShe drinks out of a painted cup of birch-bark, and neither more nor less than the quantity it holds.
Balder The Beautiful, Vol. I. | Sir James George Frazer
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