meat diaper

English

Etymology

From meat +‎ diaper, because the absorbent pad which soaks up liquid from the raw meat resembles the functions of that of a diaper for urine.

Noun

meat diaper (plural meat diapers)

1. (chiefly Canada, US, colloquial or humorous) Synonym of meat pad.
   • 2001, William L. Rathje, Cullen Murphy, Rubbish!: The Archaeology of Garbage, University of Arizona Press, →ISBN, page 72:

     Of course, the remains of meat in fresh garbage or at a landfill are not the most pleasing archaeological artifacts that one can handle. The packaging is bathed in blood and in a kind of clear slime whose viscosity feels to the touch like that of molten gristle. The associated artifacts include the familiar absorbent deli pad, or "meat diaper," that drips sanguinary rivulets on the garbage-sorters' aprons.

   • 2013 October 31, Nicola Twilley, “The Lost Cow Tunnels of New York City”, in Gizmodo Australia‎^[1]:

     In a world where our steak usually arrives pre-ground in a polystyrene tray, sitting on a meat diaper in a modified-atmosphere bubble, perhaps the cow tunnels represent the city’s agricultural unconscious, returning in the form of rumour and legend.

   • 2023 July 11, Mohamed Dabo, “Understanding the functions of an absorbent pad in meat packaging”, in Packaging Gateway‎^[2]:

     The meat diaper plays a crucial role in maintaining cleanliness when serving meat dishes such as steak, burgers and fried chicken.