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sawbelly

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

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Etymology

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From saw +‎ belly?

Noun

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sawbelly (plural sawbellies)

  1. (US) A fish, the alewife.
    • 1990 January 2, Rick Marsi, “The Russian bear can’t beat the Tier’s gray fox”, in Press & Sun-Bulletin, Binghamton, N.Y., →ISSN, page 1D, column 4:
      Every few minutes an eagle would reach daintily into the water and pluck a dead sawbelly from the half-frozen soup. Sawbellies, or alewives, are fish that do not grow that big. A full day of dipping one’s naked talons into frigid slush might yield a decent mealful.