Welsh cuisine roasted cheese led to the dish of Welsh rarebit, or Welsh rabbit, seasoned melted cheese poured over toasted bread. The cheese would need to be a harder one, such as cheddar or similar. Referred to as Welsh rabbit as early as 1725, the name is not similar to the Welsh term "caws pobi". Welsh folk rarely ate rabbit due to the cost and as land owners would not allow rabbit hunting, so the term is more likely a slur on the Welsh. The name evolved from rabbit to rarebit, possibly to remove the slur from Welsh cuisine or due to
Dream of the Rarebit Fiend McCay depicts marriage in "Rarebit Fiend" as "a minefield of hypocrisy, jealousy, and misunderstanding". McCay was a short man, barely five feet () tall. He was dominated by his wife, who stood as tall as he was. Images of small, shy men dominated by their taller or fatter wives appear frequently in "Rarebit Fiend". Gigantism, with characters overwhelmed by rapidly growing elements, was another recurring motif, perhaps as compensation on McCay's part for a sense of smallness. McCay's brother Arthur had been put in a mental asylum, which may have inspired the themes of insanity that are common in the