| Definition/Meaning | Word/Phrase |
|---|
| tough and stubborn |
adamant
,
hard-nosed
,
impassive
,
stoical
,
stolid
|
| Canadian dogbane yielding a tough fiber used as cordage by native Americans; used in folk medicine for pain or inflammation in joints |
Apocynum cannabinum
,
Indian hemp
,
rheumatism weed
|
| tough more-or-less rigid protective covering of an animal or plant |
armor
,
armour
|
| deciduous shrub of eastern North America having blue-black berries and tough pliant wood formerly used to make arrows |
arrow wood
,
southern arrow wood
,
Viburnum dentatum
|
| shrubby tree widely distributed along tropical shores; yields a light tough wood used for canoe outriggers and a fiber used for cordage and caulk; often cultivated for ornament |
balibago
,
Hibiscus tiliaceus
,
mahagua
,
mahoe
,
majagua
,
purau
|
| large tough nonrigid bag filled with gas or heated air |
balloon
|
| tough protective covering of the woody stems and roots of trees and other woody plants |
bark
|
| tough grasses with strong roots that can grow on exposed sandy shores |
beach grass
|
| wild pea of seashores of north temperate zone having tough roots and purple flowers and useful as a sand binder |
beach pea
,
Lathyrus japonicus
,
Lathyrus maritimus
,
sea pea
|
| weedy perennial with tough wiry stems and purple flowers; native to Europe but widely naturalized |
black knapweed
,
Centaurea nigra
,
hardheads
,
lesser knapweed
|
| small deciduous tree of eastern and central United States having dark green lyrate pinnatifid leaves and tough moisture-resistant wood used especially for fence posts |
box white oak
,
brash oak
,
iron oak
,
post oak
,
Quercus stellata
|
| very hard tough close-grained light yellow wood of the box (particularly the common box); used in delicate woodwork: musical instruments and inlays and engraving blocks |
boxwood
,
Turkish boxwood
|
| widely distributed tree of eastern Australia yielding a tough durable fiber and soft light attractively grained wood; foliage is an important emergency food for cattle |
Brachychiton populneus
,
currajong
,
kurrajong
|
| very prickly woody vine of the eastern United States growing in tangled masses having tough round stems with shiny leathery leaves and small greenish flowers followed by clusters of inedible shiny black berries |
briar
,
brier
,
bullbrier
,
catbrier
,
greenbrier
,
horse-brier
,
horse brier
,
Smilax rotundifolia
|
| swaggering tough; usually one acting as an agent of a political faction |
bullyboy
|
| medium to large deciduous oak of central and eastern North America with ovoid acorns deeply immersed in large fringed cups; yields tough close-grained wood |
bur oak
,
burr oak
,
mossy-cup oak
,
mossycup oak
,
Quercus macrocarpa
|
| United States film actor known for his portrayals of tough characters (1899-1986) |
Cagney
,
James Cagney
,
Jimmy Cagney
|
| any tropical Asian palm of the genus Calamus; light tough stems are a source of rattan canes |
calamus
|
| Pacific coast tree having aromatic foliage and small umbellate flowers followed by olivelike fruit; yields a hard tough wood |
California bay tree
,
California laurel
,
California olive
,
mountain laurel
,
Oregon myrtle
,
pepperwood
,
sassafras laurel
,
spice tree
,
Umbellularia californica
|
| source of a tough elastic wood |
Calycophyllum candidissimum
,
dagame
,
lemonwood tree
|
