Meanings
- UKpluralplural onlyOffal; The internal organs of an animal, especially when used as food.
The livers and lights of sheep, cattle, &c. were well boiled, chopped fine, seasoned with pepper and salt, and filled into the small intestines of those animals; and a piece from seven to nine inches long, sold to us for sixpence, York currency;
2009, Andrew Sherburne, Memoirs of Andrew Sherburne, page 1131 more example
Helpless, the riders are borne into the Marsh, or a freshwater lake or even, so it is said in Grïmnørsland, the salt sea. After the waters close over their heads they are not seen again, although sometimes their livers and lights are found cast up on the shore.
2007, Cecilia Dart-Thornton, The Iron Tree - broadlypluralplural onlyInnards; entrails.
D'ye hear me? I'll cut ye open. I'll cut the livers and lights out o'ye.
1918, James Joyce, Exiles2 more examples
... for I forgot he was old King Lear and a drownded A-rab all in one, and it most scared the livers and lights out of me.
1884, Mark Twain, The Adventures of Huckleberry FinnIt's all as true as Gospel ; and I can whip the livers and lights out of any crowd that disputes it.
1898, “Uncle Jake's Story: The South Bend Bear Hunt”, in The Cyclopædia of Wit and Humor, page 30
Origin
From the most prominent organs, the liver and the lights (lungs); probably influenced by alliteration.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
livers and lights. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/livers%20and%20lights
“livers and lights.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/livers%20and%20lights. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “livers and lights,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/livers%20and%20lights.
Source: livers and lights on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.