choke-children
English
Choke-children
Alternative forms
- chuck-children
Etymology
choke + children. The fish is noted for its boniness, which could prove a choking-hazard to children. May be related to folklore surrounding the Cornish saint St. Leven.
Noun
choke-children
- (obsolete) A fish, the allis shad (Alosa alosa) or rock herring.
- (obsolete) A fish, the common bream (Abramis brama).
References
- Wright, Joseph (1898) The English Dialect Dictionary, volume 1, Oxford: Oxford University Press, page 593: "Choke-children, the fish Alosa vulgaris, allis-shad, so called from its bony nature;"
- Jago, Frederick William Pearce (1882) The Ancient Language and the Dialect of Cornwall, page 132
- Hunt, Robert, editor (1865), “Legends of St Leven”, in Popular Romances of the West of England, volume 2, page 12