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I know terms for the meat of young animals of a specific species, such as "lamb" (also the name of a young sheep) and "veal", and the meat of old animals of a specific species or set of closely related species, such as mutton. But are there any terms for the meat of young animals in general, terms for the meat of old animals in general, and for those in between?

For the example of how it'd be used, as mandated in the tag wiki for single word requests: I'm currently using

Do [the aliens] want human lamb, human hogget, or human mutton?

which is probably likely to be understood, but I'd like to know if there's more accurate words to use in this context. I assume the English language doesn't have words specifically for the meat of young humans, medium aged humans or old humans, so the most accurate approach would be saying "human [generic term for young animal meat]", "human [generic term for medium aged animal meat]", and "human [generic term for old animal meat]".

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    I'd be tempted to say: Baby/infant flesh; young adult flesh, and tough bird :)
    – Mari-Lou A
    Commented Oct 2, 2015 at 10:22
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    The discerning alien would also want to know whether the human was free-range, if it had been treated with antibiotics, and if it had been slaughtered "humanely".
    – TimR
    Commented Oct 2, 2015 at 12:09
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    I don't think such words exist. Having said that, may I suggest the term 'suckling' (as in 'suckling pig') for meat from an unweaned child.
    – JHCL
    Commented Oct 2, 2015 at 13:38
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    As Zaroff in "the most dangerous game", aliens may hunt "human game: young, full-grown or elderly people". Then, you can say "What kind of human game want aliens? Tender, red or shriveled meat." By the way, I don't really know if adults flesh is red or not.
    – Graffito
    Commented Oct 2, 2015 at 14:07
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    @JHCL. Suckling is a great suggestion for baby flesh. Adult human flesh may not need a qualifier since it would be the default. We could then have suckling human, human, and wizened human (as suggested by Mari-Lou in her answer below).
    – Tragicomic
    Commented Oct 2, 2015 at 14:34

3 Answers 3

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What a delightfully ghoulish question :) Given the option, I'd say

  1. infant flesh
  2. young adult flesh
  3. wizened flesh

Generally speaking, beef is grouped into three classes

  1. milk-fed veal
  2. young beef
  3. aged beef
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  • Have you ever used or heard those words? Just curious Mari-Lou.
    – user140086
    Commented Oct 2, 2015 at 10:50
  • @Rathony "Given the option, I'd say" I thought was pretty self-explanatory! I'm not in the habit of purchasing human "meat".
    – Mari-Lou A
    Commented Oct 2, 2015 at 10:51
  • @ I just wanted to ask you because I have never heard of those words. :D
    – user140086
    Commented Oct 2, 2015 at 10:53
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    Aged beef is not beef from old animals. It is meat that has been aged, the classic process being hung. Commented Oct 2, 2015 at 20:25
  • @WhatRoughBeast yes, the information is contained in the link I provided. But in the OP's context the meaning is clear, the meat is from mature cattle. Oh, mature meat, that could work too.
    – Mari-Lou A
    Commented Oct 2, 2015 at 20:33
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I've never heard of meats being rated or labeled for the age of the animal. However, you could possibly use terms for the grades of meat instead of their age, like:

prime, choice, good, standard, and utility.

Or you could creatively hint at their ages, which I think would come across:

Do [the aliens] want human veal, human beef, or human jerky?

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I would rewrite the sentence as below:

Do [the aliens] want kid's meat, elderly's meat, or youth meat?

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