Meanings
plural cherrystones
- abbreviationellipsisEllipsis of cherrystone clam, a hard clam (Mercenaria mercenaria) that has grown to a size within a certain range, being larger than a countneck, littleneck or topneck but smaller than a quahog.
Miss Violette Shumberger names twelve dozen cherrystone clams as the second course, and Joe Duffle says two gallons of Philadelphia pepperpot soup as the third.
1937, Damon Runyon, A Piece of Pie - alternativeAlternative spelling of cherry stone.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounsmall quahog larger than a littleneck; eaten raw or cooked as in e.g. clams casino
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
From cherry + stone. The name of the clam came from a fancied resemblance to a cherry's stone. The fancied resemblance is in shape, color, and sheen, not in size; the clams are several inches across.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
cherrystone. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cherrystone
“cherrystone.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cherrystone. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cherrystone,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cherrystone.
Source: cherrystone on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.