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Glite Dictionary
side of pork

side of pork

3.8
One half of a butchered pig before it is cut into smaller pieces
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : costillar de cerdo
  • There were pale hooked sides of pork hanging like cadavers.

Examples

  • To prepare for the feast, we ordered a side of pork from the local farm.

  • And a side of pork.

    Abominable (2019)

  • Ma had a pot of beans on the stove, cooking with a side of pork, and the warm house smelled wonderful.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • The butcher displayed a whole side of pork hanging in the shop.

  • The chef recommended using a side of pork for making delicious roasts.

Synonyms

side
vsside of pork
  • Specialized
267 7.2

One lengthwise half of an animal prepared for meat

is the same concept but refers to the carcass before it is divided
side of meat
vsside of pork
  • Specialized
5.5

A large half of an animal prepared and sold for eating

is limited to one animal species' half rather than any animal

Surface Forms

side of pork singular
sides of pork plural

Morphology

side + of + pork

The meaning is directly compositional: 'side' (a part or lengthwise half of an animal) combined with the partitive 'of' and 'pork' (pig meat) yields the interpretation 'a half/side of a dressed pig for meat'. This noun-of-noun/partitive pattern is common in English and other languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents can readily infer the phrase's meaning.

Etymology

Side of pork comes from how butchers handled a pig: after it was killed and cleaned, it was cut down the middle into two large halves, and each half was a side of pork. Butchers often sold or cured a whole side of pork before cutting it into smaller pieces, so the term means 'one half' of the dressed pig.