gristly
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of gristly
A Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at gristle, -y 1
Explanation
Gristly means rubbery or full of cartilage. The hardest part of your trip to rural China might be graciously accepting and attempting to chew the gristly meat your hosts offer you. The Old English word that spawned gristly is gristle, literally meaning "cartilage." When meat in particular is hard to chew, it's gristly. This adjective sounds like grisly (no t), which describes something that is horrifying. Although it can also be horrifying, save gristly to describe that chewy mystery meat you try and choke down to be polite.
Vocabulary lists containing gristly
Commonly Confused Words, List 3
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Commonly Confused Words, List 5
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Commonly Confused Words, List 11
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The patty is tasteless and perhaps a little gristly.
From Salon • May 14, 2022
Amid this chewy, gristly spectacle, Snyder’s own tongue remains firmly in cheek: From the brassy accompanying cover of “Viva Las Vegas” to the bright, satirical gloss of the visuals, he’s soliciting more smirks than screams.
From Los Angeles Times • May 11, 2021
And the stubborn beef in the stew-y bistec ranchero was still gristly, as if that skirt steak leaped out of the simmering pot two hours too soon.
From Seattle Times • Jan. 21, 2020
Or the more gristly, more controlled team that has tended to grind a little more, to come on strong rather than devour opponents from the start?
From The Guardian • Sep. 29, 2018
I couldn’t afford a drab for an apple and meat pie, so I had snuck some barley bread and a gristly sausage out of the Mess.
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
