chopped liver

Meaning

Noun

• A Jewish pâté-like food made by mincing beef or chicken liver and onions which have been broiled or fried in schmaltz together with hard-boiled eggs; it is usually spread on to bread.
• A person or object not worthy of being noticed; someone or something insignificant.

Origin

• , from געהאַקטע + לעבער. According to the Hungarian-American lexicographer and linguist Sol Steinmetz (1930–2010), sense 2 (“person or object not worthy of being noticed”) may be from the fact that chopped liver is served as an appetizer or side dish rather than as a main dish.