flake
n.— «I prefer mulches that break down readily in the soil and are easy to lay down. I used to buy salt hay, which grows in coastal marshes, because the seeds it contains don’t germinate in gardens. But it’s less available now, so I use straw or hay. These come off the bale in flakes, like the volumes in an encyclopedia.» —“Green Thumbs Value a Good Mulch” by Barbara Damrosch Washington Post May 6, 2004. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Whether it’s a Rubik’s cube or a round of Wordle, why do so many of us find puzzles irresistible? A new book celebrates the allure and psychological benefits of brain teasers. Plus, powerful language for talking about the chronic...
In the thriller Down Cemetery Road starring Emma Thompson, a character uses the Briticism safe as houses, meaning “quite safe,” an expression thought to derive either from the sturdiness of a house or the sense of real estate as a secure investment...