Etymology Borrowed from Japanese 寿司(すし) (sushi, “sushi (sour rice)”), ultimately from archaic conjugation 酸(す)し (sushi, “sour, vinegared”) of modern adjective 酸(す)い (sui, “sour, vinegared”).
1
Usually A Japanese dish made of small portions of sticky white rice flavored with vinegar, usually wrapped in seaweed and filled or topped with fish, vegetables or meat.
For the vegetarians, she served cucumber sushi.
He went to a Japanese restaurant and ordered sushi and noodles.
4 more examples
Suzuributa.—Mashed fish, eggs, 'sushi' of shrimps, plum cake, black mushroom, plum, and finely cut orange.1879 October 4, W. H. Patterson, “Japanese Cookery”, in Notes and Queries, volume s5-XII, number 301, London: John Francis, →DOI, page 263:
Not long ago a newspaper reporter came to interview me on the subject of unusual foods, and I described to him the persimmon-leaf sushi made by the people who live deep in the mountains of Yoshino—and which I shall take the opportunity to introduce to you here.1977 [1933], 谷崎潤一郎 [Jun'ichirō Tanizaki], translated by Thomas J. Harper and Edward G. Seidensticker, In Praise of Shadows, Sedgwick, ME: Leete's Island Books, translation of 陰翳礼讃 [In'ei Raisan] (in Japanese), →ISBN, page 40:
I lived in New York all my life. We used to have Chinese restaurants, ltalian restaurants. Now you have these sushi restaurants. Everyone goes for sushi. Sushi—I hate the stuff. Although, I tell you, I had some the other day. I took it home, I cooked it, it wasn't bad. It tasted like fish.1985, Leora Barish, Desperately Seeking Susan, spoken by Taxi Driver:
To appreciate sushi, you have to forget the tastes and textures that come with Western cuisine. At first glance (or should I say taste?), a sushi of flounder will not be that different from a sushi of sea bream. But, for the Japanese, these two sushi are as different as roast beef and roast pork are for a Westerner.2004, Chihiro Mazui, Kazuko Masui, “Introduction”, in Sushi Secrets, London: Hachette Illustrated, →ISBN, page 12:
You will recall that, contrary to the relative appearance of the words, the sashimi are the simple raw fish slices and the sushi are the rolls of rice and raw fish.1983 May 31, Robert Nadeau, “Restaurant: Gyuhama of Japan: Suit yourself with sushi”, in Richard M. Gaines, editor, The Boston Phoenix, volume XII, number 22, Boston, Mass.: Boston Phoenix Inc., →ISSN, →OCLC, section 2, page 10, column 3:
Rusty put a sushi in her palm. / Mary Kate popped it into her mouth. It tasted salty and crunchy. “Cucumber!” she said. / “My grandmother puts a surprise in the middle of each one,” said Rusty.1989, Jean Marzollo, chapter 5, in The Green Ghost of Appleville (39 Kids on the Block; 1), New York, N.Y.: Scholastic Inc., →ISBN, page 42:
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I reach out and pop a sushi into my mouth while I’m waiting for someone to answer a question.1997, Jeffrey A. Kottler, “Focusing on People”, in Travel That Can Change Your Life: How to Create a Transformative Experience (Jossey-Bass Psychology Series), San Francisco, Calif.: Jossey-Bass Publishers, →ISBN, page 92:
Startled by the venom, Erik almost dropped a sushi into his mixture of soy sauce and wasabi.2009 September 14, Frank Penater, “Undercover”, in The Gene Card, Bloomington, Ind.: iUniverse, →ISBN, page 161:
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Proscribed, Usually Raw fish, especially as a Japanese dish.
'Can't eat sushi?' I said. Then Mom said, 'You can't eat uncooked fish when you're pregnant' as if I'm the one stupid enough to go and get pregnant!2012, Alison Acheson, Molly's Cue, page 26:
Etymology Borrowed from Japanese 寿司(すし) (sushi, “sushi (sour rice)”), ultimately from archaic conjugation 酸(す)し (sushi, “sour, vinegared”) of modern adjective 酸(す)い (sui, “sour, vinegared”).
Our finned friends come in all varieties: sushi-ed, fresh, smoked and otherwise packaged for your consumption.2017, Korina Miller, Kate Armstrong, Lonely Planet Canada:
Sushi
noun
1
Informal A person who typifies a mixture of Shiism and Sunnism
Then there are the "Sushi" neighborhoods and towns - a mixture of some Sunni, some Shia, hence Sushi2007, Francis X. Callahan, Does W Stand for Worst?: The Record of G.W. Bush - Page 160
... particularly from the Sunnis you talked to, and the Shias were always angry. (Ali calls himself Sushi so it's kind of a mixture.)2007, John Palattella, Reporting Iraq - Page 173
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Reality proved quite different. Ahmed is half Sunni, half Shia—a “Sushi,” in his own words2010, Paul Wilson, Erasing Iraq: the human costs of carnage - Page 34