plum
/plʌm
/- Brown rot can affect plums and other stone fruits.
- Stone fruit includes plums, peaches, nectarines and cherries - all those delicious things that we import from other parts of the country around Christmas time.
- Several species in the genus Prunus, family Rosaceae, in particular P. domestica.
- If you have space in your yard, do plant a plum tree - your family will thank you for it.
- Spring was finally feeling about him and the plum tree was blooming, buds of white and lavender and pink sprawling out in pastel against the blue of the sky.
- Because these plants are seed grown, the flower colour ranges from white to deep plum, lavender and blush, some spotted, others speckled or plain.
- It had cream painted walls with the odd panel of dark plum red colour, and huge canvases of gold paintings.
- Modern hybrids come in every colour from white and apricot to deep plum.
- He favors free trade and giving firms from donor nations the first crack at plum investments.
- Julia Haworth took acting lessons to combat shyness… and went on to land a plum role in the nation's favourite TV soap.
- Throughout that era, territory was the most coveted of resources, the plum prize in any power struggle, the mark of distinction between the victors and the defeated.
Synonyms
- Greg and I plum forgot to back things up just in case.
- Both were meant to show cutting-edge technology, but now they are extremely campy, outdated relics of yesteryear and just a plum bad idea.
- I got so lost in trying to guess what every feather and coloured band on his body denoted that I plum missed the camp being set up, and nearly didn't notice Doc on his way back over.
Phrases
have a plum in one's mouth
like a ripe plum (or ripe plums)
Origin
Old English plūme, from medieval Latin pruna, from Latin prunum (see prune1).
Latin prunum is the source of both plum and prune (Late Middle English), a plum preserved by drying. The change from pr- to pl- is not an unusual one. The ‘l’ and ‘r’ are made in very similar parts of the mouth, and some languages do not distinguish between the two sounds. Plum pudding (mid 17th century) was originally made with plums. The use of plum to refer to something highly desirable, ‘the pick of the bunch’, probably arose from the idea of picking the tastiest bits out of a plum pudding. Upper-class people are sometimes said to have a plum in the mouth, or to speak with a plummy voice. The idea of having a plum in the mouth goes right back to the 1530s, though at first it meant that the speech was indistinct rather than posh.