VOOZH about

URL: https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/lying-gourd.3979210/

⇱ lying gourd | WordReference Forums


Menu


Install the app
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.

lying gourd

I don't think it is OK. No English speaker would know what you meant by 'lying' in this context. Is it a direct translation from Chinese, perhaps?

Clicking on the image gives us the English name of this vegetable. It's apparently called a crookneck gourd (or squash or pumpkin).
"A gourd on its side" not (what sounds like) a non-truth-telling gourd.
"A gourd on its side" not (what sounds like) a non-truth-telling gourd.
That was my first thought also.

When I saw the title, I thought that 'lying gourd' might be some kind of insult. "You lying gourd! How dare you spread rumours about my family like that!"
So, "a gourd on its side" is what we want to mean in post #1, right?
You'd have to say what type it was. Most gourds/squashes/pumpkins are roundish in shape, so the idea of them being on their side doesn't tell you enough.

If crookneck pumpkins (as in your first picture) are common in your part of the world, I guess you could say "a crookneck pumpkin [lying] on its side". I wouldn't just use 'lying' on its own, for the reason given above - it sounds too much like it's not telling the truth.
Back
Top Bottom