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Glite Dictionary
mock turtle soup

mock turtle soup

1 8.2
A soup made from a calf's head or other meat that copies turtle soup
  • noun
  • /mɑk ˈtɜrtl suːp/
  • Archaic
translation icon : sopa de tortuga falsa
  • At the famous restaurant, the chef's specialty is mock turtle soup, which uses a traditional recipe.

Examples

  • - It's a thing mock turtle soup is made from.

    Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1972)

  • For dinner, we enjoyed a delicious bowl of mock turtle soup made with tender meat.

  • During the banquet, one of the highlights was the mock turtle soup served to all the guests.

Synonyms

mock turtle
vsmock turtle soup
  • Archaic
1 8.6

A soup like turtle soup made without turtle meat

uses calf's head or other meats as the specific substitute ingredient

Surface Forms

mock turtle soup singular
mock turtle soups plural

Morphology

mock + turtle + soup

The adjective 'mock' means an imitation, and combined with 'turtle' + 'soup' yields an obvious compositional meaning: an imitation of turtle soup (i.e., a soup resembling turtle soup but not made from a turtle). The precise ingredient used as a substitute (calf's head) is a cultural detail, but the core meaning is directly derivable from the constituents.

Etymology

The name mock turtle soup comes from cooks in the 1800s who wanted to copy expensive green turtle soup. They made a cheaper soup using a calf's head and other meats to 'imitate' turtle, so the name uses mock with the meaning 'fake' before turtle to show it was a 'substitute' for real turtle soup.