"The Lex Faunia [a Roman law; 'lex' is noun feminine in Latin for 'law'] of 162 BC forbade fattening hens to conserve grain rations. To get around this the Romans instead castrated roosters, which resulted in a doubling of size.
"William Shakespeare mentioned capon in the famous 'All the world's a stage' monologue from his play As You Like It (written c 1600). He similarly describes capon as a food of the wealthy. The monologue describes human life as consisting of seven stages, and the fifth stage is a middle-aged man who has reached the point where he has acquired wisdom and wealth. The monologue describes the fifth stage as: 'The Justice, In fair round belly, with a good capon lin'd' "
"And then the justice, In fair round belly with good capon lined."
and explained in https://www.enotes.com/homework- ... speares-poem-439117
("this passage, 'justice' is another word for judge. Essentially, in this passage, he [Shakespeare] is likening a man in his middle ages to a judge, someone wise enough and experienced enough to correctly interpret and judge situations,. However, this wise judge is also not without his corruption. In the line, 'in fair round belly with good capon lined,' the word 'capon' refers to highly fattened male chickens; capons were especially known to be 'used to bribe judges' (154; Shakespeare Navigators)" )
(b) "Americans have long split over the Thanksgiving meal. Some families dabble in ham or game hens * * * At Thanksgiving this year, she [Tamaki Stratman] says, they'll be serving Cornish hen.
(i) Cornish https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornish
(ii) Cornish chicken https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornish_chicken
("There are two variates, the Cornish Game and" another)
(c) "Capons trace their history to the Roman Empire and ancient China. The bird is a delicacy in Europe, where it is typically stuffed and roasted. It was a niche poultry in the US until 'Game of Thrones' introduced it to a wider audience, alongside such Middle Age fare as haunch of goat and pigeon pie. To produce capons, breeders remove the testicles of a weeks-old male chicken using small surgical tools. The absence of male sex hormones means the bird grows larger, fatter and with more tender meat, say chicken farmers."
(i) haunch (n): "a buttock and thigh considered together, in a human or animal"https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/us/haunch
(ii) pigeon pie https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pigeon_pie