Mock Turtle were not frequently used and often discarded, including the head, hooves, and tail; and uses the non-muscular meat to imitate turtle meat. Tenniel's illustration shows the Mock Turtle with the body of a turtle, and the head, hooves, and tail of a calf. The complicated pun, then, is both word-play and picture-play. Mock Turtle The Mock Turtle is a fictional character devised by Lewis Carroll from his popular book "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland". Its name is taken from a dish that was popular in the Victorian period, mock turtle soup. Carroll enjoyed such puns on Victorian fashions and etiquette, and
Turtle soup Turtle soup Turtle soup is soup or stews made from the flesh of the turtle. The dish exists in some cultures and is viewed as a luxury or delicacy. The soft-shelled turtle was commonly used for turtle soup in Singapore while the snapping turtle, found mainly in the United States, was typically used there; and is still found in certain regional cuisines, particularly in Philadelphia cuisine and some Southern United States cuisines. Chinese and other East Asian cuisines use primarily soft-shelled turtles for turtle soup. An alternative form of this dish without actual turtle meat is the mock turtle soup.