sarsaparilla
/ˌsɑːs(ə)pəˈrɪlə
/noun [mass noun]
1A preparation of the dried rhizomes of various plants, especially smilax, used to flavour some drinks and medicines and formerly as a tonic.
1.1A sweet drink flavoured with sarsaparilla: a jug of sarsaparilla...
- The characters are relaxing, enjoying mead, grog, and various other old-timesy type drinks that no one actually drinks anymore like sarsaparilla, sherry, or wine coolers.
- There was the festival's customary unlimited bowling, plenty of oat sodas, sarsaparillas and White Russians.
- And he had a reputation of being a bit of a dandy in college, because, you know, he'd have a glass of sarsaparilla.
2The tropical American climbing plant from which sarsaparilla is generally obtained.
- Genus Smilax, family Liliaceae: several species, in particular S. regelii, which is the chief source of commercial sarsaparilla.
- The seeds of bristly sarsaparilla, currant, and soapberry lie dormant in the soil and germinate only after being burned; ecologists call the process ‘seed banking.’
- China-root came from an Asian plant related to sarsaparilla.
Origin
Late 16th century: from Spanish zarzaparilla, from zarza 'bramble' + a diminutive of parra 'vine'.
Rhymes
- as luck would have it
- ASM
- a smack in the face (or eye)
- (as) mad as a box of frogs
- (as) mad as a gum tree full of galahs
- (as) mad as a hatter
- (as) mad as a March hare
- (as) mad as a meat axe
- a small fortune
- as many
- Asmara
- Asmera
- (as) merry (or lively) as a grig
- as much
- (as) much as
- Asn
- as near as
- as near as dammit (or damn it)
- as near as damn it
- (as) nice (or sweet) as pie
- a snowball's chance (in hell)
- (as) nutty as a fruitcake
- asocial
- (as) of right (or by right)
- as often as not