possum belly
- noun
- /ˈpɑsəm ˈbɛli/
- US
- Traditionally, some Southern recipes use a possum belly as a cooking container or ingredient.
Examples
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The hunter claimed the possum belly gave his stew an extra rich flavor.
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Have you ever tasted possum bellies in a stew?
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At the festival, a chef jokingly described his secret technique as slow-roasting in a possum belly.
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I tried a dish made with possum belly last night.
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At the festival, a chef jokingly described his secret technique as slow-roasting in a possum belly.
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The hunter claimed the possum belly gave his stew an extra rich flavor.
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Traditionally, some Southern recipes use a possum belly as a cooking container or ingredient.
Synonyms
Part of the body between the chest and hips, or the underside of an animal
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase denotes the belly (stomach/underside) of a possum, which is directly and compositionally derived from the meanings of 'possum' and 'belly'. While cultural or culinary uses (e.g., as an ingredient) may be unfamiliar, the referent itself is predictable from the constituents and follows a common noun + noun compounding pattern.
Etymology
Possum belly comes from traditional Southern cooking, where people used the actual possum's belly either as food or even as a simple cooking container. So the phrase now means 'the stomach of an opossum' or an 'ingredient or cooking container'.