From The Food Encyclopedia by Jacques Rolland and Carol Sherman
Also anglerfish, bellyfish, frogfish, goosefish, lotte. So named because of its unusually heavy and oddly shaped head, thought to resemble a fish wearing a monk's cowl. It's sometimes called "poor man's lobster", due to the texture of its flesh. It is one of the ugliest fish on the market: French fishermen used to cut off its head at sea for fear of frightening land dwellers. The monkfish is also known by the name "anglerfish", because it lures its prey in front of its mouth with a spiny protrusion that dangles out from between its eyes, like an angler lures a fish with a piece of bait on his line.
