noun

craw

The passage through which food is swallowed.

The insult stuck in his craw.

Etymology

Craw is a traditional throat word whose deeper origin is uncertain. The idea of food lodging there also underlies the familiar expression for something that sticks in a person’s craw.

More examples

  • He could not get the unfair accusation out of his craw.
  • The old expression described something lodged in the craw.
  • The glossary explained craw as an older word for the throat.

Forms

craw

Similar words

throat
Throat is the ordinary anatomical word; craw persists especially in the expression stick in one’s craw.
gullet
Gullet names the food passage; craw is more colloquial or idiomatic.