spine pig

English

Etymology

From spine + pig, literal translation of porcupine.

Noun

spine pig (plural spine pigs)

  1. Porcupine.
    • 1884, James Hogg, Florence Marryat, London society:
      Hares are fairly common, so also is the fretful porcupine, who, if he finds his way into your kitchen-garden, will play havoc with your pet vegetables. He is accounted delicate eating, this 'spine pig,' as the natives call him; [...]
    • 1953, Randall Jarrell, Poetry and the age:
      "Spine-swine (the edgehog misnamed hedgehog)," echidna, echinoderm, rhino, the spine pig or porcupine — "everything is battle-dressed"; [...]
    • 2006, Wayne Clifford, The Book of Were:
      Spine pig, spine pig, say me true, how your flesh befits a you so articulate in joint as to sharpen to your point. I've kept dogs ten thousand days; dodge my fears and play my joys out there in the forest's maze, [...]

Translations

This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.