DCHP-2

side bacon DCHP-2 (October 2016)

• n. — Food

  slices of pork from the belly of a pig.

  Type: 3. Semantic Change — The term side bacon refers to slices of pork cut from the belly, or side, of a pig (see Image 1). Note that "side" and "belly" refer to the same part of the pig (see the 2007 quotation). Side bacon is usually sliced, containing streaks of both fat and meat, hence the term "streaky bacon" (see the 2014 quotation). The earliest found Canadian attestation of the term (see the 1847 quotation) antedates American sources (see DARE, s.v. "side bacon", DAE, s.v. "side bacon", DA, s.v. "side" (3)(I)). As seen in Chart 1, the term is not the most frequently used in Canada. It appears that although the technical name of this particular bacon type is side bacon, as the term appears on Canadian packaging labels, everyday language users simply refer to this type of bacon as "bacon" (see the 2014 quotation). Its prototypical nature is reiterated in the 2011 quotation, where side bacon is referred to as the "average" bacon or Canada's "staple bacon" (see the 2007 quotation).
  Chart 1 shows that the term is also very prominent in New Zealand, while the phrase sliced side bacon is most frequent in Canada. Ontario and the Northwest Territories show most uses within Canada (Chart 3).
  See also COD-2, s.v. "side bacon", which is marked "Cdn.

  See also: back bacon  peameal bacon