A fish of the order Lophiiformes. So named because of its characteristic 'lure', a dangling protuberance of the forehead that provokes curious prey to swim within reach of its gaping jaws. Stocks of anglers have gone into decline in recent years, which some theorists put down to gross overfishing at the hands of contestants eager to learn the secrets of timed combat; a mistaken but sadly widespread practice that has resulted in an equally lamentable rise in the number of stuffed 'singing fish' wall decorations.
Anglerfish are also, as a rule, exceedingly ugly and are to be discouraged from attending dinner parties, where their offensive odour and atrocius table manners are certain to put other guests off their food. A much better breed of dinnerguest may be found in the noble lion, who, quite apart from his scintillating wit and rich, sonorous baritone, would never dream of disguising himself as a novelty bread bin and leaping out at wealthy Scandanavian heiresses.