dandelion clock

English

Noun

dandelion clock (plural dandelion clocks)

1. (British) A single stem of a dandelion in its post-flowering state with the downy covering of its head intact. The term is applied when the flower is used, or is thought of as suitable for use, in a children's pastime by which the number of puffs needed to blow the filamentous achenes from a dandelion is supposed to tell the time.
   • 1841 April, “Breakfast Table Science for Young People”, in Parley's Magazine‎^[1], New York, page 112:

     Dandelion clocks! -- Pray what are they? ... by far the best clock is made by blowing the downy seed of the dandelion.

References

• “dandelion clock”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.