minor taro root; taro cormlet/cormel
Refers to the small side corms that grow around the main taro corm; includes both 子芋 (smaller) and 孫芋 (even smaller). Used in cooking and agriculture.
jam-packed with people
Used in the set phrase 芋の子を洗うよう, describing a crowd so dense that people jostle like taro cormlets being washed in a basket. Colloquial and vivid.
See also: 芋の子を洗うよう
When you use minor taro roots in a simmered dish, they become fluffy and delicious.
Many small taro cormlets are attached around the parent corm.
The beach in summer is so crowded it's like washing taro cormlets.
Compound of 芋 (imo, 'taro') + の (possessive particle) + 子 (ko, 'child'), literally 'child of taro'. The figurative sense comes from the image of many small taro cormlets being washed together in a basket, resembling a jostling crowd.