Over the years, any number of would-be culinary historians have taken a stab at explaining the origin of the oddly-named hushpuppy. They’ve come up with an array of tales that range from silly to stupid. Still others insist that "hushpuppies" is the veriest corruption. The proper name is puffles — because they are dough fried in deep fat. Since they are made of cornmeal they were correctly called mush-puffles, and the best the early darkies could do with this was "hushpuppies." What is a hushpuppy? waterman's crab house hushpuppies. A hushpuppy is thick cornmeal-based batter, deep fried in small balls. Sometimes it’s formed into a more oblong oval a la Cook Out, but the most prevalent shape is is the sphere. So what is Moss’s take on the origin of the term hushpuppy? He suggests that the term is likely a euphemism for stopping the dogs in your stomach. The story of the hushpuppy is an example of truth actually being more interesting than fiction. As Moss concludes, “And so there you have it. What'sthe origin of the phrase 'Hushpuppies'? HushPuppies in the culinary sense are balls of fried seasoned cornbread. They have been popular in the southern states of the USA, often eaten with fried fish, and possibly known since the 18th century.