Hello again!

This time, friends, I'm trying to decide whether a restaurant menu should say "Chicken butts" or "Parson's noses". I just found the latter here in WR. Had never heard it before, but the dictionary says it's "informal".

I don't find chicken "butts" to be very formal either but I suppose this will be better understood by foreigners who only know some English and no Bulgarian at all. And, by all means, it will be surely understood by patrons who only know English.

I know another word too, but it is probably larger than the fatty cooked flesh I'm trying to describe.

What do you think?

 

The parson's nose is a humorous (and quite possibly obsolete) term for . . . well, I don't know what the proper name of the back end of a fowl is. The OED entry doesn't include a proper, polite term, it just says:

which is not much help. Surely butchers must have a term? Would 'rump' do, perhaps? Chicken rump? To me, 'butts' is just obscure, and I'd be guessing what it meant.

 

This is what I wrote before I started thinking.

But the definition of rump says "the lower back of a bird" and I don't want waiters beaten on my account

Maybe I should just leave it the way it is - "rumps", huh?

 

How about "chicken tails", boozer?

It's not a term I've heard (but then I use parson's nose, if I use anything...). However, there do seem to be a few relevant hits for "chicken tails" on google, and it's understandable - and avoids "butts".

 

I think this is probably a good suggestion. Definitely don't put "chicken butts"! I think "parson's nose" might cause confusion, especially for tourists who speak English but not as a first language (and no Bulgarian). It's not really an everyday word. Possibly "chicken tails" might be a bit confusing too, but people can probably figure out what it is.

 

If you take a solemn oath, Loob, that nobody's going to imagine having to also eat feathers, I embrace the idea.

Sounds very good, I must admit.

Thank you, all three of you.

 

I would say: rump of chicken marinated with herbs/stir-fried with onions/casseroled with peppers etc. etc.

 

Thanks for your suggestion, Lis. Looks like whatever I say there will always be room for misinterpretation.