Meaning
A very small silvery fish, fried whole and crisp — bones and all — and eaten as a cheap, tasty snack or side, often by the handful with bread or bammy. Sprats are netted in numbers close to shore and are a humble staple of the fish beach and roadside.
Examples
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Fry a bag a sprat crisp.
Fry a bag of sprats crisp.
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Eat di sprat whole, bone an all.
Eat the sprat whole, bones and all.
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Sprat an bammy fi a quick bite.
Sprats and bammy for a quick bite.
Origin
From English 'sprat' (a small fish); eaten fried whole. See [[jack-fish]], [[grunt-fish]].
How it’s used
A tiny fish fried whole and crisp; a cheap snack. See [[jack-fish]], [[grunt-fish]].