8 Delicious Words with Inedible Meanings

Edible Definition: the globular, often flattened root of a biennial herb of the mustard family (Brassica rapa var. rapa)

Inedible Definition: a large pocket watch

“I’ll tell you what you might do, Charley. I put my watch up the spout last week. It’s a silver turnip, so I only got fifteen shillings; yours is a Cox and Savary, and it’s gold.”
— Anthony Trollope, The Three Clerks: A Novel, 1860

Edible Definition: the tart, succulent, usually pink or red petioles of any of a genus (Rheum) of Asian plants of the buckwheat family having large leaves

Inedible Definition: a heated dispute or controversy

Example:

I was astonished at the energy Granddad poured into the game. He truly cared. He sometimes got into rhubarbs with umpires who had a worse view of the game from behind the plate than Grandpa did on Saturday afternoon black-and-white TV.
— Jeff Petersen, The Observer (La Grande, Oregon), 11 Jun. 2010

Edible Definition: a leafy garden plant (Brassica oleracea var. capitata) with a short stem and a dense globular head of usually green leaves that is used as a vegetable

Inedible Definition: money, cash

Example:

Michael Lynn, a professor at Cornell University, has studied tipping habits during a few thousand meals at casual dining restaurants. … Lynn’s ideas may seem obvious or even corny. The research shows, however, that they’re worth some cold, hard cabbage: Tips can increase anywhere from 10 percent to 70 percent.
— Brahm Resnik, The (Phoenix) Arizona Republic, 11 Sept. 2004

Edible Definition: the usually large, rounded, edible, pulpy berry of an herb (genus Solanum) of the nightshade family native to South America that is typically red but may be yellow, orange, green, or purplish in color and is eaten raw or cooked as a vegetable

Inedible Definition from our Unabridged Dictionary: woman, girl

Example:

She’s a sad tomato / She’s three miles of bad road / She's her own invention
— R.E.M., “Crush with Eyeliner,” Monster (1994)

Edible Definition: the oily seeds of a low-branching widely cultivated annual herb (Arachis hypogaea) of the legume family with showy yellow flowers

Inedible Definition: a trifling amount

Example:

There are several things I like about this recipe. One is that it costs peanuts. Another is that it's not only delicious but very easy to make. But most of all I like it because it is, as far as I know, original.
— Richard Ehrlich, The Guardian (London), 15 Apr. 1994

Edible Definition: a globular to oval smooth-skinned edible fruit that is a drupe with oblong seeds of any of various trees and shrubs (genus Prunus) of the rose family

Inedible Definition: something superior or very desirable; especially : something desirable given in return for a favor

Example:

Vic decided to vote against considering him for the job. And now he finds that the person has been hired and given this plum of an office.
— Gloria DeVidas Kirchheimer, “First, Do No Harm,” The Antioch Review, 2010

Edible Definition: an acid fruit that is botanically a many-seeded pale yellow oblong berry produced by a small thorny citrus tree (Citrus limon) and that has a rind from which an aromatic oil is extracted

Inedible Definition: something (such as an automobile) that is unsatisfactory or defective

Example:

In Flores, consumers filed a putative class action against a car dealership, alleging the dealership sold them a ‘lemon’ and failed to fully disclose all sale terms.
— National Law Review, 22 Jan. 2013