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Glite Dictionary
mock turtle

mock turtle

1 8.6
A soup like turtle soup made without turtle meat
  • noun
  • /mɑk ˈtɜrtl/
  • Archaic
translation icon : tortuga falsa
  • The restaurant's special tonight is mock turtle soup, featuring a rich and savory broth.
  • mock turtle soup

Examples

  • She ordered mock turtle as her appetizer, excited to try this unique dish made without turtle meat.

  • And for you, Madam, just pour it on the mock turtle and you have created your own mock turtle soup.

  • At the fancy dinner, I had mock turtle soup, which tasted just like the real thing.

Synonyms

mock turtle soup
vsmock turtle
  • Archaic
1 8.2

A soup made from a calf's head or other meat that copies turtle soup

is a general imitation made without the original meat and allows varied ingredients

Surface Forms

mock turtle singular
mock turtles plural

Morphology

mock + turtle

The meaning is directly built from 'mock' (an imitation) + 'turtle' (the animal), so 'mock turtle' straightforwardly denotes an imitation turtle (e.g., soup made without real turtle). This adjective+noun compositional pattern is common in English and cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the intended meaning.

Etymology

Mock turtle was made in England to copy rich 'turtle soup' using cheaper parts of a calf so people could have a similar meal without turtle meat. The word mock means 'fake' or 'imitation', so mock turtle came to mean a dish that looks and tastes like turtle soup but has no real turtle.