My houseguest would like to know (actually it’s not ALL her fault, I also want to know) what makes a “bristling” sardine “bristling”? Are all sardines bristling or just some? I think they don’t have bristles? Do they tend to have an angry disposition?
If you are winding me up, then I wll be the one bristling, but here goes, anyway.
The word is brisling, not bristling
A brisling is a type of little fish which is often canned. I don’t think it is a sardine, more of a herring.
Sounds like a Scandinavian word to me, so let’s wait around and see if any of them pop in to tell us.
Glad that was cleared up. I’d thought they were “bristled” cause they were crammed into that tiny can. You know…like sardines.
Thank you!
I don’t think it is a sardine, more of a herring.
Sardine is not a specific biological type of fish. The term includes various fishes, among them herring and pilchard, that are packed tightly in cans.
While sardines are “small” fish, there is considerable variation in their size. Some varieties have 30 or more whole (headless) fish in the can, others have portions (not whole) of 2 or 3 fish in that same size can.