A.Word.A.Day --spitchcock

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PRONUNCIATION:

(SPICH-kok)

MEANING:

noun: An eel split, cut into pieces, and cooked.
verb tr.: To treat severely.

ETYMOLOGY:

Of unknown origin. Earliest documented use: noun 1597, verb 1674. A close cousin is spatchcock, a bird with its spine removed flattened for cooking.

USAGE:

“If they catch me in their camps again let them spitchcock me.”
The Collected Works of Charles Lamb and Mary Lamb; E Moxon; 1876.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

You must protest / It is your diamond duty / Ah but in such an ugly time / The true protest is beauty. -Phil Ochs, folksinger (19 Dec 1940-1976)

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