cherrystone en · NOUN
Etymology
From cherry + stone. The name of the clam came from a fancied resemblance to a cherry's stone. The fancied resemblance is in shape, color, and sheen, not in size; the clams are several inches across.
Meanings
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(abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis, used as a size classification by fish merchants) Ellipsis of cherrystone clam, a hard clam (Mercenaria mercenaria) that has grown to a size within a certain range, being larger than a countneck, littleneck or topneck but smaller than a quahog.
alt of cherrystone clam
Miss Violette Shumberger names twelve dozen cherrystone clams as the second course, and Joe Duffle says two gallons of Philadelphia pepperpot soup as the third.
1937, Damon Runyon, A Piece of Pie:
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(alt-of, alternative) Alternative spelling of cherry stone.
alt of cherry stone
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| cherrystones | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Coordinates
quahog · littleneck · peanut · countneck · topneck
Hypernyms
mollusk · round clam · organism · Mercenaria mercenaria · quahog · hard clam · animal · invertebrate · clam