fighting cock
1
9.1
- noun
- NSFW
:
gallo de pelea
- Linden repaired marine engines to make money, and when he wasn't doing that, he bred and trained fighting cocks.
- two fighting cocks
Examples
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The owner proudly showed off his fighting cock, which had won several championships.
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There he has a house and two ferocious fighting cocks.
Fiction book (1991) -
Better not mess with the fighting cock!
-
"Are those fighting cocks?" I ask the man.
Fiction book (1994) -
The Cuban crowd is going crazy as a fighting cock is moving in for the kill.
Fiction book (1995) -
A few fighting cocks and cows meandered about outside.
Academic text (2017) -
By the chandler's dory he saw commerce: dice and bulldog, fighting cocks.
Fiction book (1993) -
When two fighting cocks were matched in weight, their hoods were removed, and they were held close to each other to judge their degree of mutual animosity.
Fiction book (1994) -
At the festival, spectators eagerly gathered to watch the intense match between two fighting cocks.
-
The farmer raised fighting cocks on his property, ensuring they received proper training and care.
Synonyms
1
9.9
A rooster bred and trained to fight other roosters
A farm bird bred to fight, often roosters used in cockfights
How Aggressive
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is compositionally clear: 'fighting' (involved in combat) modifies 'cock' (a rooster), so the phrase denotes a rooster used for fighting. This is a standard modifier+noun pattern found across languages, so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer the MWE's meaning even if they lack detailed cultural knowledge of cockfighting.
Etymology
Fighting cock comes from the practice of cockfighting, where a cock, a male chicken, is bred and trained to fight other birds. That's why the phrase means 'a rooster kept or trained for fighting'.