Word.ws English Dictionary

Cullen skink

Syllables: Cul·len skinkUK/ˌkʌlən ˈskɪŋk/

Cullen skink noun: a thick soup made of smoked finnan haddock, milk, onions, and potatoes, a local speciality of Cullen in Moray, Scotland.

cullen skink: a thick soup made of smoked finnan haddock, milk, onions, and potatoes, a local speciality of...
Image: Metukkalihis, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun

Cullen skink (uncountable)

  1. A thick soup made of smoked finnan haddock, milk, onions, and potatoes, a local speciality of Cullen in Moray, Scotland.
    • CULLEN SKINK (Smoked Haddock Soup) […] Cullen is a fishing village and "skink" is the old Scots name for broth. It is a splendid soup, just right for wintry weather, especially in this modern version. […] Christopher Oakes, head chef of the Castle Hotel in Taunton, Somerset, has put together two...1986, Elisabeth Lambert Ortiz, “Soups”, in From the Tables of Britain: Exploring Exciting English Cuisine in 250 Recipes, Lanham, Md.; London: M. Evans, Rowman & Littlefield, →ISBN, pages 102–103
    • In Scotland he had no trouble eating haggis, stovies or Cullen skink. He still had trouble with porridge, however, and when it crept up on him disguised under the name of Highland Brose and containing cream, honey and whisky, it was transformed into a powerful emetic.1992, Geoff Nicholson, chapter 5, in The Food Chain, Woodstock, N.Y.: The Overlook Press, →ISBN

Examples of Cullen skink in a sentence

  • CULLEN SKINK (Smoked Haddock Soup) […] Cullen is a fishing village and "skink" is the old Scots name for broth.1986, Elisabeth Lambert Ortiz, “Soups”, in From the Tables of Britain: Exploring Exciting English Cuisine in 250 Recipes, Lanham, Md....
  • […] Cullen skink is to the Hebrides what clam chowder is to New England.2006 March, David Lansing, “HopScotching the Inner Hebrides”, in Christine Richard, editor, Islands, Winter Park, Fla.: Islands Media...
  • Like most traditional Scottish cooking, Cullen skink is simple, rib-sticking fare made from a handful of ingredients.2007, “Soups and Salads”, in 1001 Foods to Die For, Kansas City, Mo.: Andrews McMeel Publishing, →ISBN, page 124:

Origin of Cullen skink

From Cullen (“a village and former royal burgh in Moray, Scotland, United Kingdom”) + skink (“(originally) pottage or soup made from a boiled joint of beef; pottage or soup made from other ingredients”).

Words that rhyme with Cullen skink

35 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about Cullen skink

What does Cullen skink mean?
Cullen skink means a thick soup made of smoked finnan haddock, milk, onions, and potatoes, a local speciality of Cullen in Moray, Scotland.
How do you use Cullen skink in a sentence?
CULLEN SKINK (Smoked Haddock Soup) […] Cullen is a fishing village and "skink" is the old Scots name for broth.
What part of speech is Cullen skink?
Cullen skink is a noun.
How do you pronounce Cullen skink?
Cullen skink is pronounced /ˌkʌlən ˈskɪŋk/ (UK).

Words near Cullen skink in the dictionary

  1. Cullen Bullen
  2. Cullen number
  3. Cullen numbers
  4. Cullen prime
  5. Cullen primes
  6. Cullen skink
  7. Cullen stone
  8. Cullen stones
  9. Cullenbone
  10. cullender
  11. cullenders

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: Cullen skink (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-au-Cullen skink.ogg.

Cite this entry: “Cullen skink.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/cullen_skink. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.