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Glite Dictionary
experimental dish

experimental dish

6.3
A cooked food made in a new way to try out ideas
  • noun
translation icon : plato experimental
  • She loves trying out a new experimental dish whenever she has guests over.

Examples

  • Have you tried the new experimental dishes at the restaurant?

  • You have a reputation for a wide range of experimental dishes.

    The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989)

  • The chef presented an experimental dish featuring unexpected flavor combinations.

How Experimental

experimental dish
6.3

Surface Forms

experimental dish singular
experimental dishes plural

Morphology

experimental + dish

The meaning 'a dish prepared in an innovative or unusual way' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'experimental' (relating to experiments/untested methods) with 'dish' (a cooked item). This literal compositional pattern is common and predictable, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

The phrase experimental dish comes from imagining a chef like a scientist testing new ideas: experimental means trying something new and dish is the food they make, so it is like a cooking experiment. That's why it means 'a dish prepared in an innovative or unusual way'.