in the gristle en · ADP
Meanings
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(qualifier:literal) Not yet hardened into bone or strengthened into sinew.
Most cartilage is not merely premature bone; but there is a grain of truth to the old notion that newborn creatures' bodies are yet in the gristle, as some bones are still developing.
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(figuratively) Young, weak, and unformed.
The country’s first prime minister, the hard-drinking political pragmatist Sir John A. Macdonald, was all too aware of the fragilities this entailed [the challenges of unifying a Canadian federal polity], stating in 1872 that Confederation “is only yet in the gristle, and it will require five years more before it hardens into bone.”
2026 July 1 [1872], Dónal Gill, quoting John A. Macdonald, “Canada’s Mistake Was Believing the Border No Longer Mattered”, in The Walrus, archived from the original on 01 Jul 2026:
Relateds
Translations (3)
fi kehittymätön (young, weak and unformed) · is óharðnaður (young, weak and unformed) · fi luutumaton (not yet hardened into bone)