Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The quahog clam when small and suitable for eating raw. Littlenecks are smaller than cherrystones.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • A local epithet, noting young, round, hard clams of a size preferred for eating raw.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun a quahog when young and small; frequently eaten raw.
  • noun a young quahog suitable to be eaten raw.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A young quahog, or hard clam

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a young quahog
  • noun a quahog when young and small; usually eaten raw; an important food popular in New York

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[After Little Neck, Bay, off western Long Island, New York.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

little +‎ neck. Back-formation from littleneck clam.

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Examples

  • White suggests foie gras torchons with spiced figs and sweet/spicy ormeasco mostarda; the Ligurian pasta called Trofie with shellfish ragout; pan-roasted cod with littleneck clams and watercress pesto; and a warm liquid-center chocolate coulant with stracciatelli gelato.

    Julie Mautner: Comfort and Joy Julie Mautner 2011

  • White suggests foie gras torchons with spiced figs and sweet/spicy ormeasco mostarda; the Ligurian pasta called Trofie with shellfish ragout; pan-roasted cod with littleneck clams and watercress pesto; and a warm liquid-center chocolate coulant with stracciatelli gelato.

    Julie Mautner: Comfort and Joy Julie Mautner 2011

  • White suggests foie gras torchons with spiced figs and sweet/spicy ormeasco mostarda; the Ligurian pasta called Trofie with shellfish ragout; pan-roasted cod with littleneck clams and watercress pesto; and a warm liquid-center chocolate coulant with stracciatelli gelato.

    Julie Mautner: Comfort and Joy Julie Mautner 2011

  • I thought the world was my oyster, or at least my littleneck clam, but I found soon enough that the shimmering surface of unpaid drama festivals was just a thin veneer that covered a worm-ridden table beneath it, not to wear out my metaphoric welcome or anything.

    Me and Alfred Jarry at the 10-Minute Play Festival Con Chapman 2012

  • So I recently conjured up -- with considerable effort and not a little expense -- some fresh littleneck clams that I chopped with various other things, topped with bacon, and broiled on the half-shell.

    "Self-Defense" Cooking 2009

  • White suggests foie gras torchons with spiced figs and sweet/spicy ormeasco mostarda; the Ligurian pasta called Trofie with shellfish ragout; pan-roasted cod with littleneck clams and watercress pesto; and a warm liquid-center chocolate coulant with stracciatelli gelato.

    Julie Mautner: Comfort and Joy Julie Mautner 2011

  • Ingredients 3 pounds small boiling potatoes or medium sweet potatoes, cut in half 8 quarts littleneck or cherrystone clams 12 ears corn, husks on 2 pounds red or yellow onions, peeled and cut in half 8 quarts mussels, well-rinsed and debearded 12 chicken thighs optional 3 pounds spicy sausage such as chorizo, linguica

    Happy as a Clambake Gail Monaghan 2011

  • To finish the dish, he nestles littleneck clams into the corn, letting them steam open right in the pot, and showers the dish with chopped basil.

    Food52's Best Corn Recipes Showdown: Vote For The Best Dish 2010

  • Not only does the recipe say it serves 6 to 9 who can divide by 9?, but by my quick read, even if you settle on the 6-servings idea, making it for one would cause you to include a single chicken thigh, one lonely littleneck clam, one just-as-lonely mussel, a single jumbo shrimp and 1 1/2 ounces of rockfish, among other things.

    Cooking for One: Project Downscale Joe Yonan 2010

  • The many invertebrates here, such as littleneck clams and sand dollars, make good meals for vertebrates.

    Parasite Rex Carl Zimmer 2009

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