or Biddybid
acorruption of Maori name piripiri. It is a kind of bur.
1880. T. H. Potts, `Out in the Open, `New Zealand Country Journal,'vol. xii. p. 95:
«Piri-piri ( acaena sanguisorbe) by settlers has beenconverted or corrupted into biddy-biddy; a verb has been formedon it, which is in very constant use for a good part of theyear at least. To biddy, is to rid one of burrs, as `I'll justbiddy my clothes before I come in.' Small birds areoccasionally found in a wretched state of discomfort in whichthey appear a moving mass of burrs. Parroquets, pipets, andthe little white-eyes, have been found victims suffering fromthese tenacious burrs of the piri-piri, just moving littlebrown balls unable to fly till picked up and released fromtheir bonds.»
1896. `Otago Witness,' Jan. 23, vol. ii. p. 36:
«Yes, biddybids detract very materially from the value of thewool, and the plant should not be allowed to seed where sheepare depastured. They are not quite so bad as the Bathurstburr, but they are certainly in the same category.»