choice morsel

1 5.7

A small very tasty piece of food that people choose first

noun
/tʃɔɪs ˈmɔrsəl/

: bocado selecto

She served the guests a choice morsel of lobster as an appetizer.

Examples

Bell picked out a choice morsel of chicken and placed it in her daughter's bowl.

Fiction book (1998)
"And I have a few choice morsels for you," I said.

Fiction book (1992)
The chef presented a choice morsel of chocolate cake that melted in your mouth.
At the picnic, everyone enjoyed a choice morsel of fresh fruit from the orchard.

Synonyms

bite

vschoice morsel

302 1.0

A small amount of food eaten quickly

refers to a small prized tasty piece rather than any small snack

morsel

vschoice morsel

28 3.2

A small piece of food that you eat in one bite

emphasizes tastiness and rarity rather than being just small

tidbit

vschoice morsel

5 3.6

A small tasty piece of food to eat

is often seen as a rare and especially desirable small piece

dainty

vschoice morsel

2 5.3

A small, tasty piece of food often given as a treat

is prized and rare rather than merely delicate

bonne bouche

vschoice morsel

9.9

A small very tasty piece of food served before the main meal

is seen as a rare especially desirable small tasty piece

sweetling

vschoice morsel

Archaic

7.4

A small piece of candy or chocolate

is about any tasty rare piece rather than only sweet ones

Antonyms

ordinary

683 1.0

Normal and not special or unusual

unappetizing

4 4.8

Not looking, smelling, or tasting good so you do not want to eat it

How Tasty

delicacy

37 6.3

choice morsel

1 5.7

morsel

28 3.2

bit

∞ 1.0

crumb

96 1.0

Surface Forms

choice morsel singular

choice morsels plural

Morphology

choice + morsel

The meaning is directly compositional: 'choice' (high-quality, specially selected) modifies 'morsel' (small piece of food), so a 'choice morsel' is immediately understood as a particularly tasty or desirable small piece. This simple adjective+noun combination follows common compositional patterns in many languages, making it transparent to a B1 learner who knows both constituents.

Etymology

Choice morsel comes from special meals where hosts picked the best small piece to give to a favored guest. Here, choice means picked as the best and morsel means a little bite, so the phrase came to mean 'a small, particularly tasty piece of food'.