sailor's-choice

[ sey-lerz-chois ]

noun

, plural sail·or's-choice.

1. any of several fishes living in waters along the Atlantic coast of the United States, especially a pinfish, Lagodon rhomboides, ranging from Massachusetts to Texas, and a grunt, Haemulon parrai, ranging from Florida to Brazil.

sailor's-choice

noun

1. any of various small percoid fishes of American coastal regions of the Atlantic, esp the grunt Haemulon parra and the pinfish

Word History and Origins

Origin of sailor's-choice¹

An Americanism dating back to 1840–50