- This term is used by my roommate and her boyfriend to describe the types of spicy foods my roommate dislikes eating.
mouth-spicy
compounding adjective
Describes the spiciness of foods without a liquid component.
Etymology : compound between the roots “mouth” and “spicy”. A nonce word. Used to describe spicy food without a spicy sauce or liquid component. The root “mouth” is used to metonymically describe how the spiciness of the food is centralized in the mouth area because the spices lack a liquid vessel to travel down the throat. Thus, the burning sensation is localized mostly in the mouth, and it does not coat the entire throat like a broth would.
Source : “So, a jalapeno is mouth-spicy.” -conversation with roommate’s boyfriend, Rice student, October 2019
Last modified: 10 December 2019