The phrase μητριδίων ἀκαληφῶν (literally 'motherless nettle-jellyfish') is a striking compound metaphor unique to Aristophanic comedy. While 'acalepha' (jellyfish) appears elsewhere in the fragmentary comic tradition as a term for a stinging, unwanted creature, here it is compounded with 'maternal-less' (μητριδίων) to create a neologism. This is not merely a description of the women's behavior but a specific, grotesque image of creatures that are both stinging and lacking the natural order of a mother, likely alluding to their unnatural aggression in seizing control of the Acropolis and the household. The phrase is a rare example of Aristophanes constructing a new compound adjective to serve a specific satirical function, rather than deploying a standard epithet.