picnic ham

3.5

A shoulder cut of pork that is usually smoked and cheaper than other cooked pork

noun
/ˈpɪknɪk hæm/

: jamón de picnic

The recipe called for a smoked picnic ham rather than a traditional cured one.

Examples

He bought a picnic ham to serve at the family reunion.
A picnic ham is often more affordable and still provides plenty of flavor.
She bought a picnic ham for the family gathering.
The picnic ham was delicious and affordable.
A picnic ham is often more affordable and still provides plenty of flavor.
He bought a picnic ham to serve at the family reunion.
The recipe called for a smoked picnic ham rather than a traditional cured one.

Synonyms

ham

vspicnic ham

162 1.0

Meat from a pig's back leg usually cured and eaten hot or cold

comes from the pig's shoulder rather than the upper leg

picnic shoulder

vspicnic ham

8.4

A lower part of a pig's shoulder used for meat, often smoked or cured

is marketed specifically as a cheaper substitute for traditional meat from the upper leg

Surface Forms

picnic ham singular

picnic hams plural

Morphology

picnic + ham

The element 'ham' makes it clear this is a kind of ham and 'picnic' suggests an association with picnics (so a learner could infer it's ham used or sold for picnics). However, the true sense—a specific shoulder cut of pork (often smoked and sold as a cheaper alternative)—is a specialized, lexicalized meaning not directly derivable from the constituents, so the relation is only partially predictable without prior exposure.

Etymology

Picnic ham may come from the idea of a picnic, a simple outdoor meal. People often brought a smaller, cheaper 'shoulder' cut of ham to these gatherings, so the name came to mean the smoked shoulder cut sold as an affordable ham.