squab

Definitions

  • WordNet 3.6
    • adj squab short and fat
    • n squab an unfledged pigeon
    • n squab a soft padded sofa
    • n squab flesh of a pigeon suitable for roasting or braising; flesh of a dove (young squab) may be broiled
    • ***
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
    • Squab (Zoöl) A nestling of a pigeon or other similar bird, esp. when very fat and not fully fledged.
    • Squab A person of a short, fat figure. "Gorgonious sits abdominous and wan,
      Like a fat squab upon a Chinese fan."
    • Squab A thickly stuffed cushion; especially, one used for the seat of a sofa, couch, or chair; also, a sofa. "Punching the squab of chairs and sofas.""On her large squab you find her spread."
    • Squab Fat; thick; plump; bulky. "Nor the squab daughter nor the wife were nice."
    • v. i Squab To fall plump; to strike at one dash, or with a heavy stroke.
    • Squab Unfledged; unfeathered; as, a squab pigeon.
    • adv Squab With a heavy fall; plump. "The eagle took the tortoise up into the air, and dropped him down, squab , upon a rock."
    • ***
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
    • squab To fall plump; strike heavily; flap; flop. They watched the street, and beheld ladies in … short cloaks with hoods squabbing behind (known as cardinals).
    • squab To squeeze; knoek; beat.
    • squab So as to strike with a crash; with a heavy fall; plump.
    • squab Fat; short and stout; plump; bulky.
    • squab Short; curt; abrupt.
    • squab Unfledged, newly hatched, or not yet-having attained the full growth, as a dove or a pigeon.
    • squab Hence Shy, as from extreme youth; coy.
    • n squab A young animal in its earliest period; a young beast or bird before the hair or feathers appear. Specifically, a young unfledged pigeon or dove. A young pigeon is properly a squab as long as it sits in the nest; as soon as it can utter its querulous cries for food it becomes a squealer or squeaker, and so continues as long as it is fed by the parents, which is generally until it is fully fledged; but it continues to be called squab as marketable for its flesh.
    • n squab A short, fat, flabby person: also used figuratively.
    • n squab A thickly stuffed cushion, especially one for a piece of furniture, as an upholstered chair or sofa, to which it may or may not be attached.
    • n squab A sofa in which there is no part of the frame visible, and which is stuffed and caught through with strong thread at regular intervals, but so as to be very soft.
    • n squab An ottoman.
    • squab To stuff thickly and catch through with thread at regular intervals, as a cushion. A button or soft tuft is usually placed in the depressions to hide the stitches. Furniture upholstered in this manner is said to be squabbed.
    • ***
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary
    • adj Squab skwob fat, clumsy: curt, abrupt: unfledged, newly hatched: shy, coy
    • n Squab a young pigeon, the young of other animals before the hair or feathers are grown: a short stumpy person: a thickly-stuffed cushion, a sofa padded throughout, an ottoman
    • v.t Squab to stuff thickly and sew through, the stitches being concealed by buttons, &c
    • v.i Squab to fall heavily
    • adv Squab flat: heavily, as a fall
    • ***

Etymology

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
Cf. dial. Sw. sqvabb, a soft and fat body, sqvabba, a fat woman, Icel. kvap, jelly, jellylike things, and E. quab,

Usage

In literature:

The house-martins have eggs still, and squab young.
"The Natural History of Selborne, Vol. 1" by Gilbert White
My eyes went to the squab black outline of the boat, and the littleness of her sent a shudder through me.
"The Frozen Pirate" by W. Clark Russell
Why, don't you know that frogs'-legs are as delicate as squab.
"Phil Bradley's Mountain Boys" by Silas K. Boone
They are fond of live "squabs," which they drag out of their nests at pleasure.
"The Hunters' Feast" by Mayne Reid
Squab was sent back to ferret out the offender.
"Red-Tape and Pigeon-Hole Generals" by William H. Armstrong
Before serving, remove the ham and the bunch of greens and squeeze some lemon juice over the squabs.
"The Italian Cook Book" by Maria Gentile
All squabs are to maintain in public a deferential and modest attitude.
"The Varmint" by Owen Johnson
Butter is so cheap hereabouts that they bring you a great mass like the squab of a sofa for tea.
"The Letters of Charles Dickens" by Charles Dickens
I dealt for the jock and the skirt trimmed the squabs.
"The Dark Star" by Robert W. Chambers
And so Mrs. Fanning really enjoyed the delicate luncheon set before her so much that she finished the squab, the jelly, the toast and the tea.
"Victor's Triumph" by Mrs. E. D. E. N. Southworth
***

In poetry:

Haughty and huge as High-Dutch bride,
Such nastiness, and so much pride
Are oddly join'd by fate:
On her large squab you find her spread,
Like a fat corpse upon a bed,
That lies and stinks in state.
"In Imitation of E. of Dorset : Artemisia" by Alexander Pope
"Then you'll take cold--it shall not be;
No, no, John, you shall sleep with me."
Alarm'd--"Sir, I no evil know--
Chair, squab, or floor, for me will do."
But all his rhetoric lost the field;
As servant he was bound to yield.
"The Coachman's Fall" by William Hutton

In news:

Squab was a relatively common item on fine-dining menus 10 years ago, but it has since fallen out of favor.
nrn.com
And soon other's -- hankering for squab by raising his own pigeons.
nola.com
Chef Anne Kearney used to serve a pan-seared squab at Peristyle restaurant that was a town-and-country sort of dish.
nola.com
Enlarge Susan Langenhennig, The Times-Picayune TED JACKSON / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE Dr Brobson Lutz cradles a two week old squab.
nola.com
Roche seasons the squab — a term for a nestling pigeon, aged four weeks or less — with salt and pepper.
nrn.com
Squab With Mountain Ash Berries and Carrot Puree.
chicagoreader.com
Wrapping a meaty bird like squab in bacon, then roasting it with fresh table grapes makes for an enticing main course that's salty, sweet, crispy and juicy all at the same time.
foodandwine.com
Squab is a delicious alternative.
foodandwine.com
Squab with candied pecan and tangerine vinaigrette.
nrn.com
Squab was a relatively common item on fine-dining menus 10 years ago, but it has since fallen out of favor.
nrn.com
Enlarge Susan Langenhennig, The Times-Picayune TED JACKSON / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE Dr Brobson Lutz cradles a two week old squab .
nola.com
The Squab at Zinc Bistro.
phoenixnewtimes.com
There's something about squab that sounds so PBS.
phoenixnewtimes.com
Like all game birds, roast squab have succulent juices that should not go to waste.
post-gazette.com
Squab breast slices arrayed atop a pastry pocket of mushroom duxelles, sauced with blueberry conserves.
chicagoreader.com
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