Spanish mackerel
- noun
- /ˈspænɪʃ ˈmækərəl/
- US
- I love eating Spanish mackerel for dinner.
Examples
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The chef recommended using fresh Spanish mackerel for the recipe.
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Grilled Spanish mackerel is a popular dish at many seaside restaurants.
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We caught several Spanish mackerel during our fishing trip off the coast.
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Have you ever tried Spanish mackerel sushi?
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The chef prepared a delicious dish featuring Spanish mackerel with a tangy lemon sauce.
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During our summer vacation, we caught several Spanish mackerel while fishing off the coast.
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At the seafood market, I bought fresh Spanish mackerel to cook for dinner tonight.
Synonyms
The flesh of a small oily sea fish eaten as food
A large spotted mackerel from the Atlantic coast of North America used for food
Surface Forms
Morphology
This is a straightforward adjective + noun combination where 'Spanish' modifies 'mackerel', so a learner who knows both words will infer it denotes a kind or variety of mackerel associated with Spain (or a Spanish-type mackerel) and used as food. The compositional pattern is common cross-linguistically and does not require idiomatic knowledge, making the meaning directly derivable from the constituents.
Etymology
Spanish mackerel as the name for the fish's flesh comes from markets and cooking, since fishermen sold the fish called Spanish mackerel, cooks and buyers started using the same name for its 'meat' or 'food'.