霜柱(しもばしら)

しもばしら
noun
frost pillars; ice needles
weathertime-season
1. frost pillars; ice needles
needle-like ice crystals that form in soil when moisture in the ground freezes and pushes up through the surface
霜柱(しもばしら)を踏(ふ)むとサクサクと音(おと)がする。
When you step on frost pillars, they make a crunchy sound.
It was so cold this morning that frost pillars had formed.
子供(こども)の頃(ころ)は霜柱(しもばしら)を踏(ふ)むのが好(す)きだった。
When I was a child, I liked stepping on frost pillars.

Usage

Columns of ice that grow up out of moist, bare soil on clear, cold nights, lifting a crust of earth with them. Crunching them underfoot on the way to school is a familiar winter memory in much of Japan.

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