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gristle

gristle

7 8.1
Tough, rubbery part of meat that is hard to chew
  • noun
  • /ˈɡrɪsəl/
translation icon : cartílago
  • And these nuggets are largely gristle and ground animal bone.
  • gristle and bone
  • gristle and fat
  • gristle in meat

They're just picking up the fat and the, the gristle and they like a different environment.

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Examples

  • At the time, Poppa was chewing his favorite food, gristle.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • Lean, now, no fat, no gristle.

  • Bit of gristle for flavor, ever so tasty.

  • There's some gristle in it.

  • Instead, he poured the broth himself—the gristle floating in it, the shreds of meat, the bone.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • A dozen glasses clinked over the remains—dismembered fowl and goat with spices and gristle still clinging to the bones.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • I had to spit out the piece of gristle because it was too tough to chew.

  • When preparing the stew, I found some gristle mixed in with the meat.

  • The steak was delicious, but I couldn't stand the chewy gristle in it.

Synonyms

cartilage
vsgristle
  • Specialized
33 4.3

A strong, flexible tissue in joints that is softer than bone

is the tough, chewy form found in meat that often turns to bone in adults

Antonyms

552 1.0

Easily pressed when you touch it

56 1.0

Easy to cut or chew, not tough

Surface Forms

gristle singular
gristles plural

Etymology

Gristle comes from an old English word gristel that meant 'cartilage', the small tough, bendy part found in meat. So gristle still means that hard, springy tissue in meat that is often difficult to chew.