🍅 Fruit deformity 🍅 Misshapen fruit

catfacing

1 9.9

A scarred, misshapen area on a fruit, usually on tomatoes, caused by poor pollination or pests

noun
/ˈkætˌfeɪsɪŋ/

Jargon

: deformación

Severe catfacing can make fruit less appealing but does not always affect its taste.

Examples

The farmer noticed catfacing on several tomatoes after a cold spell in the spring.
Gardeners try to prevent catfacing by protecting plants from sudden temperature changes.
This tomato has noticeable catfacing on one side.
Farmers often encounter catfacing in their crops.
The tomatoes in my garden have visible catfacing due to inconsistent watering during pollination.
Farmers are concerned about catfacing in their crops, as it affects the saleability of the fruit.
After noticing catfacing on some of her tomatoes, she adjusted her gardening techniques to improve pollination.

How Severe

deformity

30 6.1

catfacing

Jargon

1 9.9

scarring

23 3.3

blemish

22 3.9

Surface Forms

catfacing singular

catfacings plural

Morphology

catfacing = catface (opaque) = cat + face + ing

The target is formed with the common -ing suffix, but the underlying horticultural term 'catface' is a specialized lexical item whose meaning is not predictable from 'cat' and 'face' alone.

Etymology

Catfacing likely comes from the image of a cat 'face' because the scars or splits on a tomato can look a little like a cat's face. So, catfacing is the name for that kind of scarring or deformity on fruit.