A South African common name for the sand dollar — a flattened, disc-shaped echinoderm related to sea urchins, whose bleached skeleton is commonly found on beaches. The name comes from the distinctive flower-like petal pattern on the shell's surface, which resembles a pansy. 'Pansy shell' is charming regional vocabulary rather than slang, specific to South African English coastal culture, and the shells are popular beach souvenirs.
She filled a bowl with pansy shells she'd collected along the West Coast, their delicate patterns still crisp and white.
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(South Africa) A sand dollar.
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Regional slang from around the English-speaking world — British, Australian, Irish, Caribbean, Nigerian, Filipino, AAVE, and the hyphenated-English dialects that make the internet sound local.
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