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turtle soup

turtle soup

5 6.3
A soup made from turtle meat that people eat on special occasions
  • noun
  • /ˈtɜːrtəl suːp/
translation icon : sopa de tortuga
  • Many fine restaurants in the city offer turtle soup as a specialty dish.
  • make turtle soup
  • mock turtle soup

Examples

  • Give the gentleman a towel and a basin of turtle soup.

  • Let me buy you some turtle soup.

  • We were going to have turtle soup.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • I had turtle soup for the first time, and I loved it.

    Blog text (5)
  • We ate turtle soup and played gin on rainy afternoons at the country club.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • The turtle soup, even with floating bits of meat, wasn't the meal he was waiting for.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • It was on the menu, too—and Daddy ordered the turtle soup.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • For a unique dining experience, we decided to try turtle soup at the traditional seafood festival.

  • During our trip to Louisiana, we enjoyed a bowl of rich turtle soup made with fresh ingredients.

Synonyms

soup
vsturtle soup
733 1.0

A hot dish of meat, fish, or vegetables cooked in water

is a specific delicacy made from the flesh of a particular animal
green turtle soup
vsturtle soup
  • Archaic
1 7.5

A soup made from the meat of green turtles, often served as a special food

is the general term that omits species detail

Surface Forms

turtle soup singular
turtle soups plural

Morphology

turtle + soup

The meaning 'a soup made from turtle' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'turtle' (a reptile) and 'soup' (an edible liquid dish); it denotes a soup whose primary ingredient is turtle. This follows common culinary noun-noun compounding patterns (e.g., 'chicken soup'), so a B1 learner who knows both words would readily infer the meaning.

Etymology

Turtle soup began as a literal name: cooks made soup from the meat of a turtle, often for special, rich meals. So, 'turtle soup' means a soup made from turtle meat and is thought of as a special dish, though it is now less common on modern menus.