Preposition: on

• toast: After Earnest and Delia have a disastrous celebration dinner for their wedding anniversary they return home to prepare pilchards on toast in bed instead.

Converse of object

• salt: Newlyn has been exporting salted pilchards to Italy since c.1550.

Preposition: in

• sauce: He makes his daily special of fried eggs drowned in Soy sauce, accompanied by pilchards in tomato sauce, with rice.

Modifies a noun

• fishery: Females travel the furthest north in the Tasman, homing in on the pilchard fishery near Tasmania.

• fishing: Ropehaven, apparently a former pilchard fishing station, is a private house down near the shore.

• shoal: The pilchard shoals severely declined and the industry followed, finally ceasing at the beginning of the twentieth century.

• oil: Tim float fished smelled and sardine filled with pilchard oil close to the margins along the front bank, moving from swim to swim.

• cellar: Portwrinkle was once a small but flourishing village with its early 17th century pilchard cellars, situated halfway between Plymouth and Looe.

• industry: In the 18th century, the pilchard industry dried out but was soon to be replaced by that great money-spinner, tourism.

Noun used with modifier

• salt: Recipes: Salt pilchards can be enjoyed hot or cold.