In doing some research, I recently came upon a wonderful website which has a fabulous dictionary of "Diner Lingo," you know, the rich, descriptive and often hilarious language used in those greasy spoons and burger joints by gum-snapping waitresses and short-order cooks. (Okay, that's a stereotype -- but admit it, you did form an immediate picture!) The ingenuity of speakers of the English language never ceases to amaze me, ever enriching our living, breathing vernacular! For example, in American Diner Slang, Adam 'n' Eve are two poached eggs. Some other phrases worth a hoot and a half include: Bark, Bow-wow, or Bun pup: hot dog Eve with a lid on: apple pie Burn one, take it through the garden and pin a rose on it: hamburger with lettuce, tomato and onion Cluck and grunt: eggs and bacon Dough well done with cow to cover: buttered toast Drag one through Wisconsin: put cheese on it Eternal twins: ham and eggs Family reunion: chicken and egg sandwich Foreign entanglements: spaghetti Gentleman will take a chance: an order of hash Hot Blonde in the sand: coffee with cream and sugar Jayne Mansfield: a tall stack of pancakes Mike and Ike: salt and pepper shakers Nervous pudding: bowl of Jell-O On the hoof: cooked rare Put a hat on it: add ice cream Sinkers and suds: doughnuts and coffee
Skid grease: butter Steaming Idaho: baked potato A thousand on a plate, and whistle berries: baked beans Two dots and a dash: Two fried eggs with a strip of bacon Zeppelins in a fog: sausages with mash potatoes Well, there's plenty more where that came from at Diner Lingo! Sorry if I made you hungry!
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Etymology -- the origin of words. Ever wonder where your favorite word came from? Or am I the only person on Earth with favorite words? Come on, admit it, you have favorite words and phrases -- so where did they come from? Who originated them? For example, the word catawampus or cattywampus: one of my favorites. Where the hell did that come from? According to the Merriem-Webster New Book of Word Histories: it is related to catercorner. And thumbing ahead a few pages brings us this explanation: It was the French -- AGAIN!! "The Medieval French were casual about spelling. They apparently took the Latin quattuor meaning "four" and spelled it quatre (as the modern French do) and catre. Then the English picked it up, bastardizing the spelling even further to cater. " The word still meant four, but to the limeys it mostly meant the four in dice and cards. The arrangement of the four dots on a die suggests an X. By the second half of the 16th century,a new verb appeared: "cater" which meant to move diagonally, which then morphed into an adverb meaning "diagonal" or "diagonally." Once it came over with the immigrants to the New World, it morphed even further into catercorner, and cater-cornered, then catty-corner amd kitty-corner. One of the most unusual variations is catawampus or cattywampus. This folk term has migrated the meaning from 'diagonal' to 'askew' through 'off-kilter' and is now often used by a select population to mean "discombobulated or out of joint."
Thus endeth the lesson and sorry if I bored you... |
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