rhubarb
rhubarb Lexical Profile
rhubarb Game Scores & Validity
• noun
The thick, fleshy, reddish or green leaf stalks (petioles) of a cultivated herbaceous perennial in the genus Rheum, which have a sharp, tart flavor and are cooked as a culinary vegetable or dessert ingredient.
"She harvested several crisp stalks of fresh rhubarb from the garden to stew with sugar and ginger."
The tart, crimson-colored stalks of the garden rhubarb plant when prepared and sweetened in culinary contexts as a fruit for pies, crumbles, compotes, and jams.
"In spring, bakeries often pair sweet strawberries with tangy rhubarb in fruit tarts and cobblers."
Any hardy herbaceous perennial plant of the genus Rheum in the buckwheat family (Polygonaceae), native to temperate Asia and characterized by massive, toxic triangular leaves growing from thick underground rhizomes.
"Rhubarb thrives in cool climates where the ground freezes in winter, allowing its rhizomes to go dormant before producing new shoots."
British Indistinct background chatter or murmurings made by actors in theatre, radio, or film to simulate the sound of a crowd (originally produced by repeating the word 'rhubarb'), or nonsense and rubbish in general.
"The extras in the tavern scene were instructed to mutter quiet rhubarb while the lead actors delivered their lines."
North American A heated, noisy quarrel, dispute, or altercation, especially one involving players, coaches, and umpires during a baseball game.
"A disputed call at home plate sparked a ten-minute rhubarb between the manager and the umpire."
• verb
British To murmur indistinctly or chatter in the background (especially of actors simulating crowd noise on stage or screen).
"The stagehands and supporting cast rhubarbed in the wings to create the illusion of a bustling marketplace."
Word Nuance & Usage
Botanically classified as an herbaceous perennial vegetable, rhubarb is almost universally treated as a fruit in culinary preparation (and was legally ruled a fruit for tariff purposes by a New York customs court in 1947). Note that only the fleshy stalks are edible; the leaves contain high concentrations of oxalic acid and are toxic.
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed via Old French rhubarbe and Medieval Latin rhabarbarum, from Ancient Greek rha barbaron, literally meaning 'foreign rhubarb'—combining Rha (the ancient Greek name for the Volga River, near which the plant grew) and barbaros ('foreign').
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.