tumbleweed
tumbleweed — 名詞
- tumbleweedsingular
- tumbleweedsplural
1. a dry plant that snaps off at the ground after it dies, curls into a loose ball,
風滾草
枯死後被風吹成圓球滾動的乾燥植物
a dry plant that snaps off at the ground after it dies, curls into a loose ball, and gets pushed across open land by the wind; the dried ball itself can also be called this
A dry tumbleweed bounced across the empty road in front of Rafael's truck.
一團乾燥的風滾草從空蕩蕩的馬路上彈跳而過，就在 Rafael 的卡車前面。
collocation: a tumbleweed bounces or rolls across a road
Strong winds pushed a huge tumbleweed against the old fence behind Yumi's barn.
強風把一大團風滾草吹到 Yumi 穀倉後面的舊籬笆上。
Tumbleweeds piled up along the wall of the gas station after the storm.
暴風雨過後，風滾草堆在加油站的牆邊。
plural countable use: tumbleweeds pile up
Pim saw a dry tumbleweed roll slowly down the hill, pushed by the wind.
Pim 看見一團乾燥的風滾草被風吹著，慢慢滾下山坡。
perception verb + object + bare verb: saw a tumbleweed roll
In the old western film, the hero walked slowly past a rolling tumbleweed.
在那部老西部片裡，英雄慢慢走過一團滾動的風滾草。
collocation: a rolling tumbleweed
2. the awkward quiet in a conversation or chat group when nobody replies; people so
冷場
聊天時沒人回應的尷尬沉默
the awkward quiet in a conversation or chat group when nobody replies; people sometimes post this word online to point out the silence
When Megan asked who wanted to join the call, the chat answered with a tumbleweed.
Megan 問誰想加入通話，聊天室只回了一個「風滾草」，意思是冷場。
answer with a tumbleweed: reply by pointing out the silence
Élise posted a question to the group, and all she got was tumbleweed.
Élise 在群組裡提了問題，卻只換來冷場和一個「風滾草」。
uncountable use: all she got was tumbleweed
Nobody answered Adina's post about the party, so Theo replied with a tumbleweed.
沒人回應 Adina 的派對貼文，於是 Theo 回了一個「風滾草」，點出冷場。
reply with a tumbleweed: post the word to mark the silence
The teacher's question got only tumbleweed in the class chat until Brooke finally answered.
老師的問題在班級聊天室裡一直冷場、只有「風滾草」，直到 Brooke 終於回答。