[Ads-l] snarge

[Emily Gordon]

I wanted to know what frass looks like, and found this post on the Ohio
State University site by entomology scholar Ashley Kulhanek:

“Insect Word of the Week: FRASS” (Feb. 14, 2022)
Link: https://bygl.osu.edu/node/1915

Excerpt from her post, which features vivid frass photos:

[begin excerpt]


FRASS is a term used by entomologists for insect excrement.  You may run
across the term in books, factsheets, or on bygl [Buckeye Yard and Garden
OnLine] alerts because frass is more than a fun term to throw around.  It
can be: a helpful diagnostic indicator, involved in unique insect behaviors
and survival adaptations, be the vector of disease or a nutrient source for
others. So, let’s DIG IN.



In Borror and Delong’s "Introduction to the Study of Insects", frass is
first defined as a combination of the plant debris made by wood-boring
insects mixed with their excrement (Triplehorn & Johnson, 2005, p. 785).
The sawdust-like waste that is pushed out from bore holes is often a first
sign of wood infestation by wood boring insects such as ambrosia beetles,
powderpost beetles or Asian longhorn beetles (*Anoplophora glabripennis*).



 And our word of the week definition could stop there, BUT! as with so many
words in our vernacular, *the use of the word FRASS has expanded beyond the
narrow definition above to now be colloquially used to define just about
any insect’s solid excrement* like the caterpillar frass below. [boldface
in original]



Herbivorous insects can produce copious quantities of waste products that
can easily give away their presence. The herbivore may be well hidden, but
the piles of frass are not. While out in the garden, if you spot an
accumulation of frass like this, you may want to spend some time scouting
for the producer of the excrement somewhere above the pile of frass.


[end of excerpt]

By the way, newcomer Martin Schneider is a copy editor for academic and
trade publishers and an old friend. I had an hunch he would enjoy learning
from and adding to the ADS dialogue.

Emily


On Mon, Jun 29, 2026 at 12:16 PM Martin Schneider <
000024dc089a88e9-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:

> 'Snarge' reminds me a bit of 'frass,' which is exterminator lingo for
> undifferentiated insect organic matter. In the movie Sideways, the vineyard
> where Giamatti has his epic meltdown is named 'Frass Canyon' as an inside
> joke. The director, Alexander Payne, had once worked as an exterminator or
> something, he draws attention to the name on the DVD commentary.
>
> On Mon, Jun 29, 2026 at 2:35 PM Jonathan Lighter <
> 00001aad181a2549-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:
>
> > AI:
> >
> > >Snarge is aviation slang for the biological remains, such as tissue,
> > blood, and feathers, that are left behind on an airplane after a bird
> > collides with or is ingested by it. ...The term is a portmanteau of the
> > words "snot" and "garbage".<
> >
> > 2009 _Post-Standard_ (Syracuse, N.Y) (Jan. 25) A-14 [Newspapers.com]:
> > Arriving mostly in sealed plastic bags, these included birds' feet,
> > whole feathers or tiny bits of down, and pulverized bird guts,known as
> > snarge....And if feathers don't [identify the species] the snarge goes
> > to the DNA section.
> >
> > JL
> >
> > --
> > "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the
> truth."
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org