spatchcock

UK:**UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ˈspætʃˌkɒk/US:USA pronunciation: respellingUSA pronunciation: respelling(spach′kok′)


WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
spatch•cock  (spach′kok′),USA pronunciation n. 
  1. Fooda fowl that has been dressed and split open for grilling.

v.t. 
  1. Foodto prepare and roast (a fowl) in this manner.
  2. to insert or interpolate, esp. in a forced or incongruous manner:Additional information has been spatchcocked into the occasional random footnote.
  • 1775–85; apparently alteration of spitchcock; popular interpretation as shortening of dispatch cock is probably specious

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
spatchcock /ˈspætʃˌkɒk/ n
  1. a chicken or game bird split down the back and grilled
 vb (transitive)
  1. to interpolate (words, a story, etc) into a sentence, narrative, etc, esp inappropriately
Etymology: 18th Century: perhaps variant of spitchcock eel when prepared and cooked

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