pope's nose

Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Sense 1

Meaning · English

the tail end of a cooked chicken or turkey

Literally: the nose of the pope
Where it’s used: Used Widespread English

Examples

She always gets the pope's nose at Christmas dinner

AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)

Sources & notes

Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.

Sense 2

Meaning · English

The rump of a turkey.

Era: ca. 1811 (Georgian)

Where it’s used: Origin British & Irish English
Sources & notes

Historical definition reproduced from Grose’s Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue (1811 edition, public domain; Project Gutenberg #5402, retrieved 2026-07-31). Reflects the attitudes of its era.

Sense 3

Meaning · English

the extremity of the rump of a roast fowl, sometimes devilled as a dainty for epicures. Also known as "the parson’s NOSE."

Era: ca. 1874 (Victorian)

Where it’s used: Origin British & Irish English
Sources & notes

Historical definition reproduced from Hotten’s The Slang Dictionary (1874, public domain; Project Gutenberg #42108, retrieved 2026-07-31). Reflects the attitudes of its era.

Common questions

What does “pope's nose” mean?

the tail end of a cooked chicken or turkey Literally: the nose of the pope

Is “pope's nose” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.