'Welsh rabbit' is a disguised 'Welsh joke.' In a traditional society where even a half-grown stripling could snare a rabbit for the pot, a Welshman was considered (by the English of course), so hopelessly feckless that cheese melted with beer would have to substitute. Victorian and later Recipe books often refer to this dish as "Welsh rarebit". This is a silly euphemism, and all dictionaries agree that it derives from an erroneous folk etymology.