cockfish

alternative cock fish · alternative cock-fish

1. A male fish, especially a salmon or trout.

   Spawning fish on the redds. A henfish will often be attended by two or three cockfish – whilst displaying ritual combat between themselves, one cock will mate, others may follow [image caption]

   2005, Roderick Sutterby, Malcolm Greenhalgh, “Life in the Nursery”, in Atlantic Salmon: An Illustrated Natural History, Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, →ISBN, page 23

   Synonyms: cock

2. A callorhinchid fish, Callorhinchus callorynchus, native to South America.

   Morphology of the main digestive features of cockfish, Callorhinchus callorhynchus, is described and linked to feeding habits. […] The diet of the cockfish is compared with that of other holocephalans.

   1996, Edgardo E. Di Gitlcomo, Maria Raquel Perier, “Feeding habits of cockfish, Callorhinchus callorhynchus (Holocephali: Callorhynchidae), in Patagonian waters (Argentina)”, in Marine and Freshwater Research, volume 47, number 6, →DOI, page 801

   Synonyms: elephantfish, American elephantfish

3. A cyprinid fish, Hypselobarbus dubius, native to India.

   Synonyms: Nilgiris barb

present singular third person cockfishes · participle present cockfishing · participle past cockfished · past cockfished

1. InternetvulgarTo deceive others by using fake photos of one’s genitalia.

   If you’re engaging in a flirtatious conversation with a new acquaintance, be cautious about exchanging explicit photos if you haven’t met them in person to avoid falling for this exploitative technique. Here are three reasons why people “cockfish” and tips to help you protect yourself.

   2023, Mark Travers, “3 Ways To Not Fall Pray to Online 'Cockfishing', According To a Psychologist”, in Forbes

plural cockfishes

1. InternetvulgarA person who cockfishes.

   So while a catfish might misrepresent their entire identity - including even stealing photographs from someone else's profile - a cockfish focuses on one specific body part.

   2019 September 26, Lucy Devine, “‘Cockfishing’ is the latest misleading dating trend that’s even worse than catfishing”, in The Sun, archived from the original on 27 Sep 2019

   1 more example

   Cockfish (sometimes known as catcocks) are loosely related to catfish in that they use the mystery of the world wide web to misrepresent who they are to potential friends, dates, or even financial donors. However, whereas a catfish will cloak pretty much their whole identity – often with a fake name and pictures stolen from someone else – the cockfish is only interested in changing the identity of their penis.

   2019 September 26, Jessica Lindsay, “What is cockfishing (also known as catcocking), and how can you spot it?”, in Metro, London, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 27 Sep 2019