Finnan Haddocks
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
Haddocks smoked with green wood; so called from a place-name, either Findhorn in Elgin, or Findon in Kin- cardineshire, both fishing villages where haddocks are cured.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Finnan Haddocks” mean?
Haddocks smoked with green wood; so called from a place-name, either Findhorn in Elgin, or Findon in Kin- cardineshire, both fishing villages where haddocks are cured.
Is “Finnan Haddocks” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.