sawbelly

plural sawbellies

1. USA fish, the alewife.

   Every few minutes an eagle would reach daintily into the water and pluck a dead sawbelly from the half-frozen soup. Sawbellies, or alewives, are fish that do not grow that big. A full day of dipping one’s naked talons into frigid slush might yield a decent mealful.

   1990 January 2, Rick Marsi, “The Russian bear can’t beat the Tier’s gray fox”, in Press & Sun-Bulletin, Binghamton, N.Y., →ISSN, page 1D, column 4