Crossword clues for inchworm
inchworm
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Dropworm \Drop"worm`\ (dr[o^]p"w[^u]rm`), n. (Zo["o]l.) The larva of any geometrid moth, which drops from trees by means of a thread of silk, as the cankerworm or inchworm. See inchworm and geometrid.
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
Wiktionary
n. The larva of a moth of the family Geometridae.
WordNet
n. small hairless caterpillar having legs on only its front and rear segments; mostly larvae of moths of the family Geometridae [syn: measuring worm, looper]
Wikipedia
An inchworm is the caterpillar of a geometer moth.
Inchworm may also refer to:
- "Inchworm" (song), a song from the film Hans Christian Andersen
- Inchworm (toy), a ride-on toy manufactured by Hasbro in the 1970s
- Inchworm motor, an electric motor patented by EXFO
"Inchworm", also known as "The Inch Worm", is a song originally performed by Danny Kaye in the 1952 film Hans Christian Andersen. It was written by Frank Loesser.
The song has become a popular children's song and is best known for its arithmetical chorus:
Two and two are four Four and four are eight Eight and eight are sixteen Sixteen and sixteen are thirty-twoTowards the end of the song, the verses are sung in counterpoint with this chorus. Frank Loesser loved the intellectual challenge of such contrapuntal composition which he also did in other works such as Tallahassee.
The composer received a letter of appreciation, signed pseudonymously, "Your respectfully, a Kansas inchworm",
He was so touched by this that he placed a large advertisement in the largest newspaper in Lawrence, Kansas — the Daily Journal World — in thanks. His correspondent wrote again, revealing herself to be teacher Emily Preyer.
In the film, a children's chorus sings the "arithmetic" section over and over inside a small classroom, dolefully and by rote, while Andersen, listening just outside, gazes at an inchworm crawling on the flowers and sings the main section of the song.
It has been recorded by many singers, including Rachelle Ferrell, The Brothers Creeggan, Anne Murray, Paul McCartney, Kenny Loggins, We Five, John Lithgow, Mary Hopkin, Doris Day, Dan Zanes, Kurt Wagner and Patricia Barber, and has been performed in skits on Jim Henson's Sesame Street and The Muppet Show; the song was done once by Charles Aznavour in a regular sketch, and once again with Danny Kaye and the Muppets when he was on the show. In the Quantum Leap episode Another Mother, Al ( Dean Stockwell) sang it as a lullaby. It was used in a 1995 episode of the UK television programme BBC Horizons, entitled "Nanotopia", during a segment explaining the "assemblers" of Eric Drexler. Performed instrumentally, it was a regular feature of the John Coltrane Quartet's repertoire. The song also briefly featured in the popular British schools drama Grange Hill, being sung by the school choir during rehearsals. There was also a Hebrew version of the song, sung by children and a male singer. In 2010, twice Ivor Novello Awards-nominated band The Leisure Society performed the song for the American Laundromat Records kindie compilation, "Sing Me to Sleep - Indie Lullabies." A recording of Danny Kaye singing it was used as the underscoring for a shadow puppet segment on Captain Kangaroo.
The song is also sung as a children's lullaby during episode 17 of the first season on the popular TV sitcom "Everybody Loves Raymond".
The Inchworm was a ride-on toy for children produced by the Hasbro Corporation, first introduced in the early 1970s. A scooter with yellow wheels in the shape of a green caterpillar wearing a yellow hat, the Inchworm was jointed under the saddle so its wheelbase could expand and contract. The wheels were constricted by a ratchet mechanism to rotating forward. As the rider bounced up and down on the saddle, the toy moved forward in a way somewhat resembling a Geometer caterpillar, with the ratcheting wheels making a clicking sound.
Category:1970s toys Category:Hasbro products Category:Toy animals
Usage examples of "inchworm".
Moving like an inchworm, one hitching step at a time, he made his way out of his pavilion.
The pups rode beside them now, their bodies like inchworms, spindly limbs drawn up tight.
The caterpillar of the moth is a crop pest, a green inchworm known as the alfalfa looper.
The inchworm had negotiated the shoe and disappeared into the crushed leafery beyond, and the sawdust was mounding tremendously three or four inches high.
He remembered days when his father had taken him to fish for trout in Dewflood Stream, where the weeping willows bent low over the water and green inchworms hung from the willow branches on silken threads, taunting the trout.