Definition

1. Noun:
   • The furcula of a domestic fowl: A forked bone between the neck and breast of a bird, especially a chicken or turkey, which is traditionally broken by two people as part of a custom where each person makes a wish.

Usage

• The term "wishing bone" is used specifically to refer to the furcula (a fused clavicle bone) of a bird, most commonly a chicken or turkey, when it is used in the tradition of making a wish.
• It is typically used in the context of food preparation, holidays, or cultural traditions.

Examples

• Noun:
  • After we finished the roast chicken, my sister saved the wishing bone to dry.
  • The children argued over who would get to pull the larger piece of the wishing bone.

Advanced Usage

• "To make a wish on the wishing bone": To participate in the tradition where two people hold opposite ends of the dried bone, pull it apart, and the person left with the larger piece is said to have their wish granted.
  • Every Thanksgiving, our family makes a wish on the wishing bone from the turkey.

Variants and Related Words

• Wishbone: This is the more common and standard term for "wishing bone." The two terms are synonymous.
  • He won the wishbone pull and got to make a wish.

Synonyms

• Furcula: The anatomical term for the forked bone in birds.
• Wishbone: The standard synonym.

Notes on Meaning

• The term "wishing bone" is a less common variant of "wishbone." Its meaning is entirely tied to the cultural practice of wish-making, distinguishing it from the purely anatomical term "furcula."

Noun

1. the furcula of a domestic fowl