Dictionary of Phrase and Fable—A

Alligator Pears

(the fruit of Persea gratissima) is a curious corruption. The aboriginal Carib word for the tree is “aouacate,” which the Spanish discoverers pronounced “avocado,” and English sailors called “alligator,” as the nearest approach which occurred to them.

Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894
Alliteration
Alligator
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