asparagus field
n.— «Hundreds of citizens’ groups have sprung up in Germany to battle “Verspargelung der Landschaft”—a new phrase in the German lexicon—meaning “the transformation of the German landscape into an asparagus field.”» —“As windmills spread, some Germans balk at ‘asparagus fields’” by Charles Hawley Christian Science Monitor May 5, 2004. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
What’s up with ketchup? The shifting history and spelling of the name of this condiment. For centuries, ketchup was a fishy sauce originating in Asia—the tomatoes came only later! Plus, a new book shows what’s lost when a language dies: when there...
Amid a 1796 heat wave, Jane Austen wrote to her sister, “What dreadful hot weather we have! It keeps me in a continual state of inelegance.” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Jane Austen’s Continual State of Inelegance in a 1796...