roach

[A]

a kind of insect; the short form for “cockroach”

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For the right pronunciation, please click here.

[B]

a kind of food fish – silver-white in colour with a greenish back, found in fresh waters of Europe

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[C]

a redfin

a kind of fresh-water food fish of America, also known as ‘redfin’, because of the red fins on its sides; related to the sunfish

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Figures of Speech: [B & C]
1. roach (noun) =

a roach hairstyle

(a) the butt of a marijuana cigarette (‘butt’, in this context, = the end part; ‘marijuana’ = an illicit drug)

(b) a strand of hair brushed from the forehead to temple (‘temple’, in this context, = the small shallow depression on either side of the head near the eyes)

(c) a type of hairstyle, mostly worn by the native Americans, in which the head is shaved with a thin stripe of hair left out in the middle from front to back of the head, also known as ‘mohawk’ or ‘mohican’

(d) an outward curve in a sail of a ship

2. to roach (verb) =

(a) to brush one’s hair in a roach

(b) to trim the mane of a horse (‘mane’ = the thick long hair on the back of a horse’s neck)

3. (a) roach-backed

(b) roach-bellied

[said of someone or something that is humped or pouched]

4. as sound as a roach (‘sound’, in this context, = good condition)

‘Roach’, always with a capital ‘R’, is often found in the names of people, e.g. Hal Roach, Freddie Roach, Mary Roach, etc. For an article that explains the origin of this word as a surname, please click here.