crazy worm

noun

plural crazy worms

: jumping worm

A new invasive species, the crazy worm, is spreading rapidly through several areas of the country, and has arrived at the edges of Northern New York.

—Gwendolyn Craig

"They're called crazy worms because they writhe around a lot more than other worms, and they move like snakes," said Gary Fish, state horticulturist at the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry.

—Emily Sweeney

Crazy worms can be identified by a few unique qualities, starting with their behavior. They also have a milky white or gray clitellum—the band that many earthworms have—that is flush with the rest of their body.

—Bill Chappell

Word History

First Known Use

2014, in the meaning defined above