| 词源 |
cottonwood blossom. In the Old West, an outlaw hanged from the limb of any tree was called a cottonwood blossom af- ter the common cottonwood tree (Populus balsamifera), which was often used as a gallows tree. This use of the cottonwood led to the saying have the cottonwood on him, meaning to have the advantage over someone. Among the most unusual American desserts of pioneer days was cottonwood ice cream, a sweet, pulpy white mass scraped in the spring from the inner bark of the cottonwood. |