prawn
/prɔːn
/noun
A marine crustacean which resembles a large shrimp.
- Leander and other genera, class Malacostraca. See also Dublin Bay prawn, king prawn.
- I get confused between giant prawns, crayfish and langoustine, but these were gigantic.
- I was drawn to the king prawn trilussa - prawns in a white wine and rosemary sauce served on a large bed of rice.
Phrases
come the raw prawn
Origin
Late Middle English: of unknown origin.
raw from Old English:
This Old English word shares an ancient root with Greek kreas ‘raw flesh’. In Australian English a stupid person can be referred to as a prawn (ME of unknown origin), and to come the raw prawn is to attempt to deceive someone, presumably by pretending that you are too simple to cheat.