to crop dust
– B2-C1 (intermediate to advanced) –
Practice Your Listening Comprehension
Practice Your Reading Comprehension
In Canadian English, this term typically means:
(slang) to quietly fart and then walk away*
(farming jargon) to apply fertilizers or pesticides to the plants on a farm, often by using a small aircraft
*NOTE
In Canada, it is expected that a person excuses themselves after emitting gas, especially when a sound is produced; crop dusting may occur when a person is embarrassed by the odour of their silent gas and does not want to admit to being responsible for it.
EXAMPLES
(definition 1) “What is that smell?! Did someone crop dust this place? It smells like poop in here!”
(definition 1) “C’mon, let’s go.”
“Why? You crop dusting?”
“Yeah, and I don’t want that lady over there to find out it was me. Hurry!”
(definition 2) “Crop dusting is a dangerous job. It requires flying low to the ground, avoiding obstacles like trees, hills, mountains, electrical wires, light standards, and strong shifts in the wind, all with little space to manoeuvre. As a result, the probability of survival for a full-time crop duster is low compared to other piloting or farming jobs.”
Do people often crop dust in your country, or is it culturally expected to excuse yourself when emitting silent gas? Is farming a large industry where you live? What do you think are the most in-demand ones right now? Practice using this term by letting me know your answers in the comments below.
