grass

Grass
Grass, Günter
(1927– ) a German writer of novels and plays with strong moral ideas. His best known works include The Tin Drum (1959) and The Flounder (1978). He received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1999. In 2006 he announced that he had been in the Waffen SS during World War II.

grass

I

grass¹ S2 W2 /ɡrɑːs $ ɡræs/ noun1.  IN FIELDS AND GARDENS
  a. [uncountable] a very common plant with thin leaves that covers the ground in fields and gardens and is often eaten by animals:
    She enjoyed the feel of grass beneath her feet.
    a blade of grass (=single leaf)
  b. [countable] a particular kind of grass:
    All grasses need light to grow well.
2. the grass an area of grass, especially an area where the grass is kept cut short:
    I walked across the grass.
    Keep off the grass.
3.  DRUG  [uncountable] informal marijuana
4.  CRIMINAL  [countable] British English informal someone, usually a criminal, who gives information about other criminals to the police – used to show disapproval
   SYN  informer, stoolpigeon American English ⇨ supergrass
5. the grass is greener (on the other side) used to say that other places or situations seem better than yours, although they may not really be better
6. not let the grass grow under your feet to not waste time or delay starting something
7. put somebody out to grass informal to make someone leave their job because they are too old to do it effectively
⇨ grass roots, ⇨ snake in the grass at snake¹(2)
     

COLLOCATIONS

(for Meanings 1 & 2)

■ verbs
   ▪ cut the grass The grass in the back garden needs cutting.
   ▪ mow the grass (=cut it with a special machine) I usually mow the grass once a week.
■ adjectives
   ▪ green The cows moved slowly through the long green grass.
   ▪ tall/long I walked with the tall grass brushing my knees.
   ▪ short These mowers only work efficiently on short grass.
   ▪ coarse (=consisting of thick and large pieces) The only vegetation was a few bushes and patches of coarse grass.
   ▪ damp/wet His foot slipped on the wet grass and he fell.
■ grass + NOUN
   ▪ grass clippings/cuttings (=pieces of cut grass) You can use your grass clippings to start your own compost pile.
   ▪ grass stains (=marks on clothing caused by grass) It's going to be difficult to get the grass stains out of these trousers.
   ▪ grass seed Now is the best time to plant grass seed.
   ▪ grass verge British English (=area of grass next to a road) He stopped the car on the grass verge of the deserted road.
■ phrases
   ▪ a blade of grass (=a single piece of grass) A few blades of grass poked out of the dry earth.

II

grass² verb [intransitive]
(also grass somebody up) British English informal to tell the police about a criminal’s activities
    grass on
    Burton grassed on other prisoners.
     
grass something ↔ over phrasal verb
  to cover land with grass