Word of the Day

: May 21, 2014

offal

noun AW-ful

What It Means

1 a : the waste or by-product of a process: as

b : trimmings of a hide

c : the by-products of milling used especially for stock feeds

d : the viscera and trimmings of a butchered animal removed in dressing : the edible parts of a slaughter animal other than skeletal muscle

2 : rubbish

offal in Context

The city's offal-strewn alleyways were often a haven for stray dogs and vermin.

"The menu continues to stick to a general theme of upscale bar food, but it has more wild game on it, and offal." - From an article by Sarah Blaskovich in The Dallas Morning News, April 11, 2014

Did You Know?

In its original sense, "offal" refers to something that has fallen or been cast away from some process of preparation or manufacture, and it has been used to describe such things as the stalks and dust from tobacco leaves, the less valuable portions of an animal hide, the by-products of milling grain, and the viscera and trimmings of a butchered animal. The word "offal," however, is not an etymological cast-off, but is an English original that arose in the late 14th century as a combination of "of" (the Middle English spelling of "off") and "fall," aptly naming that which "falls off" or is cast aside from something else. Since the late 16th century, "offal" has also been used as a synonym for "trash," "garbage," and "rubbish."