ahuatle (aoat1)

[Mex.] A preparation of the eggs of a dipterous insect of Mexico, Ephydra hians, used for food. It is of the eggs of this insect that the greater part of the food products of this lake [Lake Texcoco], known as Ahuatle , is composed. The eggs are cleaned and ground into flour, which is called Ahuatle . This food is deemed suitable for those days in which the religious observances prohibit the use of flesh. It is prepared by mixing with hens' eggs and fried with fat in small cakes. The taste is similar to that of caviare. Stand . Nat . Hist ., II. 432. a-hufft (a-huf'), prep . phr . as adv . [ huff . ] In a swaggering manner. Set cap a - huff , and challenge him the field. Greene, James IV., iv.