Sunday Rest: Word Not To Use Today: turbot.

I don't think I've ever eaten turbot, but there's something about the bot that makes me feel that if I did I'd be chewing my way through gears and springs.

As it happens, a turbot looks more like a ghost than a robot:


That's Scophthalmus maximus.

Turbot is one of those irritating words, like herb, which is pronounced differently depending upon where you say it. As noted above, a British turbot is a TERbot, whereas a USA one is a TERbo - and I definitely wouldn't want to eat a TERbo in case it fought back and chopped me into a million screaming pieces.

Well, they can grow up to a metre long, you know.

As if the fish sort of turbot weren't worrying enough, there are also two submarines and a war called turbot.

The war was about the illegal fishing of...

...Greenland halibut.

Ah well.

Word Not To Use Today: turbot. This word comes from the Old French tourbot, from the Mediaeval Latin turbō, which means spinning top.