A rhetorical question used to indicate that the speaker is feeling left out or slighted by attention (perhaps given to another person or persons or simply not the speaker)

Etymology:

  • Although the origin of this phrase is not really clear, there are two theories. The first theory says that liver was not always viewed on the same level as other foods. For example, if a person is cooking a chicken, they’ll oftentimes throwaway the giblets, you know, like the liver or gizzard. Or instead of throwing the giblets away, the person will cook them, not for themselves, but for their pets to eat. Hence, since liver is not as desirable to eat as other foods, the expression might spring from such an idea.
  • Another explanation, as Wikipedia explains, is that “chopped liver was traditionally served as a side dish rather than a main course.” So the idea would be that if a person thinks they are being given less attention than someone else, they might feel like they are being treated like a side dish and not the ‘main course.’
  • The oldest written occurrence of the phrase appears in a comic strip from the Ames Daily Tribune newspaper, 1971. The comic is called Winthrop and was written by Dick Cavalli. The above example was what the comic strip characters said.
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One cartoon character to another: I haven't seen a living creature all day.
Response: What am I, chopped liver?

Submitted on July 07, 2010

Modified by TriplePurple on April 11, 2024

Translation

Find a translation for the what am i, chopped liver? phrase in other languages:

Was bin ich, gehackte Leber

kio mi estas, pikita hepato

The translation of "what am I, chopped liver?" to Spanish is "¿qué soy, hígado picado?"

من چی هستم ، کبد خرد شده

que suis-je, foie haché

私は何ですか、刻んだ肝臓

내가 뭐야 다진 간

o que eu sou, fígado picado

что я, рубленая печень

நான் என்ன, நறுக்கப்பட்ட கல்லீரல்

我是什么,切碎的肝脏

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    "what am i, chopped liver?." Phrases.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 22 Dec. 2024. <https://www.phrases.com/phrase/what-am-i,-chopped-liver-_21207>.

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