What (who) is gobbet - definition

Gobbet

·noun A mouthful; a lump; a small piece.

II. Gobbet ·vt To swallow greedily; to swallow in gobbets.

gobbet

['g?b?t]

¦ noun

1. a piece or lump of flesh, food, or other matter.

2. an extract from a text set for translation or comment in an examination.

Origin

ME: from OFr. gobet, dimin. of gobe (see gob²).

gobbet

(gobbets)

A gobbet of something soft, especially food, is a small lump or piece of it.

...gobbets of meat.

N-COUNT

A gobbet of information is a small piece of it.

N-COUNT

Wikipedia

Gobbet

A gobbet is a short extract from a text which is set for commentary or translation in an examination. It is also sometimes used to refer to the question containing the gobbet, or commentary itself. It is typically seen in humanities subjects such as classics, history, literature, philosophy, and religion. Gobbets differ from essays in being focused on the examination of a single text, not needing to make an argument, and often not referring to additional sources.

The outline of a gobbet will vary, but it is usually a brief piece of analysis where the student must identify the source of the passage, place it in a wider context, and explain important names, terms, and references in the passage. The Durham University's Theology and Religion department suggests a gobbet answer should be around 500 words in length; the University of Exeter's "Hercules Project" suggests that a gobbet answer should be around one quarter of the length of an essay.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gobbet

Examples of use of gobbet

1. An owl stares straight out of the painting, a gobbet of flesh in its beak.

2. I‘m afraid I can‘t quote it verbatim because (and this gobbet is significant) it was before people routinely recorded things on the wondernet.

3. With the notable exception of the Daily Mail, which will work up a double–page spread out of the most spurious gobbet of bogus academia (or a four–part special if it happens to involve teenage pregnancy or the wickedness of have–it–all women), journalists in particular are wary of anything that could be misinterpreted, misconstrued or misappropriated.

4. In an effort to deflect the latter, Kampusch released a letter a few days later describing her daily routine as a captive and the moment of her escape, and saying that she understood that people were curious about her circumstances "but I can assure you in advance that I am not going to answer any questions of an intimate or personal nature". Unfortunately, the letter – an unusually and unexpectedly articulate gobbet of common sense and unsentimentality amid all the feverish hype – contained in its measured sentences a tantalising hint that their writer was suffering from Stockholm syndrome, as the press had been speculating since the news broke, and if anything did more to stoke than dampen interest in her.