capuchin monkeys who rub themselves with toxin-oozing millipedes Hello! What does 'toxin-oozing' mean? What does this sentence mean, "capuchin monkeys who rub themselves with toxin-oozing millipedes."

Sasha

Professional Teacher

capuchin monkeys who rub themselves with toxin-oozing millipedes Hello! What does 'toxin-oozing' mean? What does this sentence mean, "capuchin monkeys who rub themselves with toxin-oozing millipedes." "More drugs than you might think are derived from, or inspired by, compounds found in living things. Looking to nature for the soothing and curing of our ailments is nothing new – we have been doing it for tens of thousands of years. You only have to look at other primates – such as the capuchin monkeys who rub themselves with toxin-oozing millipedes to deter mosquitoes, or the chimpanzees who use noxious forest plants to rid themselves of intestinal parasites – to realise that our ancient ancestors too probably had a basic grasp of medicine." UPD: Found this video that explains a lot: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LwQ0ZiTYkQ

Dec 15, 2019 2:45 PM

Answers · 5

Sasha, it sounds like you may have figured out the answer. Oozing is a useful word because it describes a particular way that a liquid can escape from a container (whether that container is an animal’s or a person’s body, or some inanimate object). It describes the process of escaping SLOWLY and usually maintaining contact with the body/object as more and more of it slowly leaks out. For example: “Blood was oozing out of his neck” is very different from “blood was shooting/spurting/spraying out of his neck.” The latter emphasizes that the blood was coming out fast and traveling quite far from his body.

December 15, 2019

Ok, Sasha wins for the most eye-catching title on iTalki. "toxin-oozing" means something which is "oozing" toxin. The word "ooze" describes a fluid that slowly flows out. "The blood oozed through the bandage" is something you would say if the white bandage was slowly turning red with blood. "The sap oozed out of the tree" describes how the sap slowly escapes the tree. "Toxin-oozing millipedes" has the same sort of structure as "eye-catching title". What kind of millipedes are they? They are the kind that ooze toxin. What kind of title is it? It's the kind that catches your eye.

December 15, 2019

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