Scrod
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Scrod (or schrod) is not actually a specific type of fish, but rather a generic term for a young (2-lb or less) cod or, less frequently, haddock, split and deboned. It is a staple in many Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island seafood and fish markets, but is rarely found outside New England and New York.
A dubious folk etymology holds that the term comes from the acronym "Small Cod [or Haddock] Remaining On Dock", but it more likely comes from the obsolete Dutch schrood, piece cut off. Another dubious folk etymology holds that "scrod" is cod and "schrod" is haddock.
Others claim the term comes from either a sign on a wharf in Boston or a restaurant that advertised this kind of generic whitefish as "Special Catch Recorded (sometimes 'Right') On Day."
[edit] In fiction
In Gary Shteyngart's novel Absurdistan, a rebel organization is known as the State Committee for the Restoration of Order and Democracy (SCROD). The protagonist wonders why they would have named their group after a "bad fish".
[edit] Scrod/pluperfect joke
A grammatical joke involving scrod often goes like this:
- A businessman arriving in Boston for a convention found that his first evening was free, and he decided to go find a good seafood restaurant that served scrod, a Massachusetts specialty. Getting into a taxi, he asked the cab driver, "Do you know where I can get scrod around here?" "Sure," said the cabdriver. "I know a few places... but I can tell you it's not often I hear someone use the third-person pluperfect indicative anymore!"
Contrary to the joke, however, "scrod" is not the pluperfect of "screw." The "third-person pluperfect indicative" tense as used in the joke is actually nonsense, for humorous effect only.
[edit] References
- ↑ Take Our Word For It, Issue 128, page 2. Retrieved on 2006-06-11.
- Merriam-Webster's definition
- Pluperfect? (scrod), discussion at Englishforums.com
