This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
spatchcock
[ spach-kok ]
/ ˈspætʃˌkɒk /
Save This Word!
This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
noun
a dressed fowl that has had its backbone removed and has been split open and flattened so that it cooks more evenly when grilled, broiled, or roasted.
verb (used with object)
to prepare and cook (a dressed fowl) in this manner.
to insert or interpolate, especially in a forced or incongruous manner: Additional information has been spatchcocked into the occasional random footnote.
QUIZ
ARE YOU A TRUE BLUE CHAMPION OF THESE "BLUE" SYNONYMS?
We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms.
Question 1 of 8
Which of the following words describes “sky blue”?
Meet Grammar CoachImprove Your Writing
Origin of spatchcock
First recorded in1775–85; apparently an alteration of spitchcock; popular interpretation as shortening of dispatch cock is specious
Words nearby spatchcock
spastic hemiplegia, spastic ileus, spasticity, spastic paralysis, spat, spatchcock, spate, spathaceous, spathe, spathic, spathiphyllum
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
British Dictionary definitions for spatchcock
spatchcock
/ (ˈspætʃˌkɒk) /
noun
a chicken or game bird split down the back and grilledCompare spitchcock
verb (tr)
to interpolate (words, a story, etc) into a sentence, narrative, etc, esp inappropriately
Word Origin for spatchcock
C18: perhaps variant of spitchcock eel when prepared and cooked
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012