tumbleweed

Etymology

tumble +‎ weed

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈtʌmbəlwiːd/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈtʌmbəlˌwid/

Noun

tumbleweed (countable and uncountable, plural tumbleweeds)

1. Any plant which habitually breaks away from its roots in the autumn, and is driven by the wind, as a light, rolling mass, over the fields and prairies; as witch grass, wild indigo, Amaranthus albus, etc.
2. (attributive) Describing unwanted silence and inactivity. Often used of a situation when one makes a statement that is ignored or ill-received by one's audience, as the resultant silence is likened to that of a desolate desert with rolling tumbleweeds.
   • 2000 January 21, “Plsntgrn”, in alt.music.progressive‎:

     Putting an ad in the local paper that Spock's Beard and Arena are in town will get you a tumbleweed response and some wasted revenue.

   • 2005, Trevor Wright, How to Be a Brilliant English Teacher‎, →ISBN, page 68:

     “Why do families argue?” may only induce the tumbleweed response. (Could you answer that question out of the blue?)

Further reading

• tumbleweed on Wikipedia.Wikipedia