in the gristle

prepositional phrase

Not yet hardened into bone or strengthened into sinew.

“Most cartilage is not merely premature bone; but there is a grain of truth to the old notion that newborn creatures' bodies are yet in the gristle, as some bones are still developing.”

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Meanings

prepositional phrase
  1. literalNot yet hardened into bone or strengthened into sinew.

    Most cartilage is not merely premature bone; but there is a grain of truth to the old notion that newborn creatures' bodies are yet in the gristle, as some bones are still developing.

  2. figurativelyYoung, weak, and unformed.
    1 more example

    The country’s first prime minister, the hard-drinking political pragmatist Sir John A. Macdonald, was all too aware of the fragilities this entailed [the challenges of unifying a Canadian federal polity], stating in 1872 that Confederation “is only yet in the gristle, and it will require five years more before it hardens into bone.”

    2026 July 1 [1872], Dónal Gill, quoting John A. Macdonald, “Canada’s Mistake Was Believing the Border No Longer Mattered”, in The Walrus, archived from the original on 01 Jul 2026

Translations

Finnish luutumaton, kehittymätön
  • luutumatonnot yet hardened into bone
  • kehittymätönyoung, weak and unformed
Icelandic óharðnaður
  • óharðnaðuryoung, weak and unformed
Cite this entry
APA

in the gristle. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/in%20the%20gristle

MLA

“in the gristle.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/in%20the%20gristle. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “in the gristle,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/in%20the%20gristle.

Source: in the gristle on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.