gold balls—
1. a plant “marsh marigold” (Caltha palustris) bearing yellow cup-shaped flowers:
- Gold Cups and Gold Balls are names now almost forgotten.
2. the three gilt balls used as a pawnbroker’s sign:
- The three gold balls still used as a sign of the pawnbroker’s shop are supposed to have originated from St. Nicholas’s three bags of gold.
golden balls — = gold balls 2:
- Isaak, with a happy cry, pointed to the three golden balls. Mendel smiled but was exhausted when they got to the pawnshop.