cherrystone
nounEtymology From cherry + stone. The name of the clam came from a fancied resemblance to a cherry's stone. The fancied resemblance is in shape, color, and sheen, not in size; the clams are several inches across.
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Abbreviation, Ellipsis Ellipsis of cherrystone clam, a hard clam (Mercenaria mercenaria) that has grown to a size within a certain range, being larger than a countneck, littleneck or topneck but smaller than a quahog.
Used as a size classification by fish merchants
- Miss Violette Shumberger names twelve dozen cherrystone clams as the second course, and Joe Duffle says two gallons of Philadelphia pepperpot soup as the third.1937, Damon Runyon, A Piece of Pie:
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Alternative Alternative spelling of cherry stone.