| 词组 | inedible, uneatable |
| 释义 | inedible, uneatable One commentator observes that inedible describes that which by its nature cannot be used as food, as in "an inedible plant," and that uneatable describes food which is in no condition to be eaten, as in "a rotten, uneatable egg." Another commentator makes exactly the opposite distinction. And yet another commentator notes instead that a tough piece of meat is uneatable while a spoiled or poisonous piece of meat is inedible. What our evidence indicates is that the words are used more or less interchangeably except in strictly scientific contexts, where inedible is preferred. Inedible is a considerably more common word overall than uneatable: • ... those portions of the crops which were inedible to man —Norman C. Wright, Farmer's Weekly (South Africa), 25 Nov. 1953 • ... inedible fats of both plant and animal origin — Harold L. Wilcke, Duquesne Science Counselor, December 1966 • Prison riots are always caused by unbearable conditions—inedible food, brutality of the guards ... — Donn Pearce, Esquire, March 1970 • ... a real truffle, the kind people like to eat, or an uneatable one —J. Henri Fabre, Insect Adventures, retold by Louise S. Hasbrouck, 1917 • ... they were so undercooked as to be uneatable — Sylvia Townsend Warner, New Yorker, 20 Nov. 1954 |
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