redlegged grasshopper

[ red-leg-id, -legd ]

noun

1. a migratory grasshopper, Melanoplus femur-rubrum, of the southwestern and midwestern U.S., having reddish skin on the underside of the hind legs: an agricultural pest.

Word History and Origins

Origin of redlegged grasshopper¹

An Americanism dating back to 1865–70