choke-dog
English
Alternative forms
- chockdog
Etymology
choke + dog
Noun
choke-dog (uncountable)
- (obsolete, British slang) A very hard cheese. Attributed variously to counties of the West Country of the United Kingdom such as Devon, Dorset and the Isle of Wight.
- 1826 June 14, Scott, Walter, Douglas, David, editor, The Journal of Sir Walter Scott, New York: Harper & Brothers, published 1891, page 137:
- Bought a little bit of Gruyere cheese, instead of our domestic choke-dog concern. When did I ever purchase anything for my own eating? But I will say no more of that. And now to the bread-mill.
- 1870 February 1, “Our Working People and How They Live: The Dorsetshire Hind”, in Good Words, page 98:
- As I have said before, the Dorsetshire hind is undoubtedly under-fed. Bread and "choke-dog", as he calls his county's cheese, […] these are the chief items in his bill of fare.
- 1897 August 1, Church, F. J., “In the Land of the Shag”, in Recreation, volume 7, number 2, page 123:
- As there was absolutely nothing to do but to grin and bear it, we made a breakfast of smoked salmon, "choke-dog," and tea; then shouldered our packs.
-
- (obsolete, US) Any of several plants in the genus Gonolobus.
Synonyms
- (cheese): Isle of Wight Rock
- (plant): angle pod
References
- Farmer, John Stephen (1890) Slang and Its Analogues, volume 1, page 593: Cheese; especially that made in Devonshire."
- Wright, Joseph (1900) The English Dialect Dictionary, volume 2, Oxford: Oxford University Press, page 99
- Nickell, James Madison (1911) J. M. Nickell's Botanical Ready Reference, page 67: “GONOLOBUS MACROPHYLLUS. Angle Pod. Choke Dog.”