tumbleweed

• tumble weed

From tumble +‎ weed.

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈtʌmbəlwiːd/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈtʌmbəlˌwid/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iːd

tumbleweed (countable and uncountable, plural tumbleweeds)

1. Any plant which habitually breaks away from its roots once dry, forming a light, rolling mass which is driven by the wind from place to place; as Russian thistle, wild indigo, witch grass, Amaranthus albus, etc.

   Synonym: (Australia) roly-poly

2. (attributive) Describing unwanted silence and inactivity. Often used of a situation when one makes a statement that is ignored or ill-received by one's audience, as the resultant silence is likened to that of a desolate desert with rolling tumbleweeds.
   • 2000 January 21, Plsntgrn, “Re: SOAR Budget (A Long Guestimate)”, in alt.music.progressive‎:

     Putting an ad in the local paper that Spock's Beard and Arena are in town will get you a tumbleweed response and some wasted revenue.

   • 2005, Trevor Wright, How to Be a Brilliant English Teacher‎, →ISBN, page 68:

     “Why do families argue?” may only induce the tumbleweed response. (Could you answer that question out of the blue?)

3. A tan colour, like that of a tumbleweed.

   tumbleweed:  

• tumble thistle

• tumbleweed on Wikipedia.Wikipedia