Grass

Podcast 1 · Introduction

Grass

A documentary-style narration: origin, meaning, and feel.

Part of speech

noun and verb

Pronunciation

grahss  /ɡrɑːs/

Definition

As a noun: the green plant covering lawns, fields, and pastures; any of thousands of species of the family Poaceae; (British informal) a police informer. As a verb: to cover with grass; (British informal) to inform on someone to the police.

Plain meaning

Grass is the green plant that covers lawns and fields — one of the most important plant families on earth, providing food for livestock and humans. In British slang, to grass on someone means to inform on them to the police.

Register

Neutral in its plant sense across all registers. The slang sense of informer is informal British English — to grass on someone, a grass, grassing — used in both criminal and everyday contexts. Idioms: the grass is always greener (on the other side), don't let the grass grow under your feet, and keep off the grass.