corn smut

noun

1

a

or less commonly corn smut disease : a fungal disease of corn that is marked by the formation of bluish-gray galls filled with black spores

Unlike many destructive blights, corn smut doesn't typically decimate an entire crop. Instead, it affects individual kernels, tassels, or stalks, causing them to swell into swollen, silvery galls filled with powdery black spores.

—Amanda Bratcher

b

: the fungus (Mycosarcoma maydis synonym Ustilago maydis) that causes corn smut

Corn smut is a fungus that most American farmers spray their crops to avoid, but in Mexico … farmers try to cultivate corn smut.

—The New Yorker

2

: corn kernels infected with corn smut that are eaten as a delicacy especially in Mexican cuisine : huitlacoche sense 1

I tuck into a plate of … corn smut—kernels covered with a blackish-blue fungus.

—Remy Scalza

Word History

First Known Use

1844, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for corn smut

• abut
• catgut
• chesnut
• chestnut
• donut
• doughnut
• groundnut
• haircut
• hindgut
• midgut
• precut
• rebut