Dictionary

muttonfish en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio

Etymology

From mutton + fish.

Meanings

1. (US) Any of several Atlantic and Caribbean fishes which are said to taste of mutton, especially a mutton snapper (Lutjanus analis), an ocean pout (Macrozoarces americanus), or an Irish pompano (Diapterus auratus).
2. (Australia) Any of several edible molluscs of the genus Haliotis; an abalone.
   • Some mornings when the tide was right out we went onto the reef with screwdrivers to prise off abalone, which we called muttonfish. 1993, Tim Winton, Land's Edge, Picador, published 2014, page 28:

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