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 Nemo", was likely exposed to "Rarebit Fiend", which appeared in "The San Francisco Examiner", which Barks read growing up. Several episodes of Barks's Donald Duck strips appear to have taken their subjects from "Rarebit Fiend". Many scenes from animated films by Tex Avery from between 1943 and 1954 are said to show clearly a "Rarebit Fiend" influence. Science fiction illustrator Frank R. Paul painted a number of pulp magazine covers influenced by "Rarebit Fiend". Art Spiegelman paid parodic homage to "Rarebit Fiend" in his 1974 strip "Real Dream". In 1991, Rick Veitch began producing short comics based on his dreams.