Spot the Frippet: sarcocarp.

Despite appearances, a sarcocarp is not a goldfish with a sharp line in withering put-downs (isn't it a good thing that goldfish can't talk? I mean, what might they say? Mind you, they'd make brilliant witnesses to a crime. Yeah, right, like my tank is so interesting that I wouldn't notice when the accused entered the room wearing only his underpants and a bowler hat...).

No, a sarcocarp is not a fish, though a sarcocarp is something just as juicy.

A sarcocarp can be any fleshy fruit, but especially the mesocarp of a peach or plum:


illustration by LadyofHats

It's a rubbish name, I admit, sarcocarp being about a spiky a word as you can get. 

But, hey, at least it's an easy spot.

Spot the Frippet: sarcocarp. The sarco- bit comes from the Greek sarx, which means flesh. The -carp bit comes from the Greek karpos, which means fruit.

I'm not saying it's not a good well-made word. But it doesn't quite work in English, all the same.