(n)perennial rushlike flowerless herbs with jointed hollow stems and narrow toothlike leaves that spread by creeping rhizomes; tend to become weedy; common in northern hemisphere; some in Africa and South America
n. 1. (Bot.) A leafless plant, with hollow and rushlike stems. It is of the genus Equisetum, and is allied to the ferns. See Illust. of Equisetum. [ 1913 Webster ]
2. A Turkish standard, denoting rank. [ 1913 Webster ]
☞ Commanders are distinguished by the number of horsetails carried before them. Thus, the sultan has seven, the grand vizier five, and the pashas three, two, or one. [ 1913 Webster ]
Shrubby horsetail. (Bot.) See Joint-fir. [ 1913 Webster ]
[歇后语 / 歇後語, xiē hòu yǔ, ㄒㄧㄝ ㄏㄡˋ ㄩˇ]stable figure of speech contrasting two incompatible parts, such as English "snowball's chances in hell" or Chinese 馬尾穿豆腐|马尾穿豆腐 stringing beancurd on horsetail#66786[Add to Longdo]
[马尾穿豆腐 / 馬尾穿豆腐, mǎ wěi chuān dòu fu, ㄇㄚˇ ㄨㄟˇ ㄔㄨㄢ ㄉㄡˋ ㄈㄨ˙]lit. beancurd strung on horsetail; fig. frail and unreliable; a strategy that is sure to fail[Add to Longdo]