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Glite Dictionary
oyster cracker

oyster cracker

1 2.5
A small dry round cracker often eaten with soup, especially clam chowder
  • noun
  • /ˈɔɪstər ˈkrækər/
  • US
translation icon : galleta de ostras
  • For dinner, he served a steaming bowl of chili topped with oyster crackers.

Examples

  • A rich and wonderful smoked whitefish chowder ($9) arrives with homemade oyster crackers that make you go "awww."

    Blog text (29)

  • We enjoyed a bowl of clam chowder with crispy oyster crackers on the side.

  • She loves to sprinkle oyster crackers over her vegetable soup for added crunch.

Synonyms

cracker
vsoyster cracker
  • US
114 1.0

A thin, crisp biscuit often eaten with cheese or soup

is a smaller round type usually served with soups and seafood dishes

Surface Forms

oyster cracker singular
oyster crackers plural

Morphology

oyster + cracker

This is a straightforward noun–noun compound where 'oyster' modifies 'cracker' to indicate a cracker associated with oysters or seafood; both constituents keep their literal meanings. A B1 learner who knows 'oyster' and 'cracker' can reasonably infer it refers to a small cracker served with seafood or soups, so the composition is transparently predictable.

Etymology

The noun oyster cracker comes from the old custom of adding small, dry crackers to bowls of oyster stew or chowder. Because people always ate these little crackers with oysters, the name oyster cracker stuck and now means a small cracker 'served with soup or seafood'.