For Language Lovers

joanlawson

Hi

Are you interested in the origins and use of words in our language :?: If so. post a word here, and explain anything you know about it, why you like it etc.

My first one ( well two! ) is Hot dog.

Brace yourself for the short and disputed history of the “hot dog.”

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, people commonly believed that the thin sausages contained dog meat. This particularly gruesome coinage started on American college campuses in the late 19th century.

The National Hot Dog and Sausage Council suggests the phrase, in part, might have slightly more innocent inspiration. In the mid-19th century, German immigrant butchers in the United States began selling variations of sausages, some of which were thin and long, like the dog breed dachshund. They called these dachshund sausages. Over time, the phrase may have been changed into “hot dog.”

So now you know :!:

mellman01

Funny thing Joan I was watching a program this morning and they were on about the old saying letting the cat out the bag, years ago people use to bye a piglet from the local market to take home to fatten up, they were put into sacks and some dodgy traders would put a cat in it instead hence the saying.

Also the name juggernaut used for big lorries comes from the indian language, it means earth shaker.

Also the name for the hot spicy soup Mulligatawny, means tounge burner!.

mellman01

Hi Len I just PM'd you!.

joanlawson

rehab44 wrote:

joanlawson wrote:

Hi

Are you interested in the origins and use of words in our language :?: If so. post a word here, and explain anything you know about it, why you like it etc.

My first one ( well two! ) is Hot dog.

Brace yourself for the short and disputed history of the “hot dog.”

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, people commonly believed that the thin sausages contained dog meat. This particularly gruesome coinage started on American college campuses in the late 19th century.

The National Hot Dog and Sausage Council suggests the phrase, in part, might have slightly more innocent inspiration. In the mid-19th century, German immigrant butchers in the United States began selling variations of sausages, some of which were thin and long, like the dog breed dachshund. They called these dachshund sausages. Over time, the phrase may have been changed into “hot dog.”

So now you know :!:

The National Hot Dog and Sausage Council :shock: Do they have a uniform and a secret handshake?

They really do exist. See this link: http://www.hot-dog.org/ Not sure about the uniform and secret handshake though.

joanlawson

mellman01 wrote:

Funny thing Joan I was watching a program this morning and they were on about the old saying letting the cat out the bag, years ago people use to bye a piglet from the local market to take home to fatten up, they were put into sacks and some dodgy traders would put a cat in it instead hence the saying.

Also the name juggernaut used for big lorries comes from the indian language, it means earth shaker.

Also the name for the hot spicy soup Mulligatawny, means tounge burner!.

Hi Mell

I didn't know the origin of letting the cat out of the bag. Poor cats :!: :!:

Juggernaut is interesting. It's one of those words which came into our language from India. There was a procession, featuring a cart carrying Lord Jagannath , and it would shake about as it went over the stoney road. Hence earth shaker.

I think Mulligatawny comes from India too, and it can mean pepper water, which would be a tongue burner :!:

joanlawson

rehab44 wrote:

mellman01 wrote:

Hi Len I just PM'd you!.

Roger that

You show your military background by using 'Roger'. I think it is It is radio lingo, isn't it? It is used along with a phonetic alphabet! Alpha, Bravo, Charlie , Delta, Echo Fox, Golf, Hotel, so you don't get confused.

ninakang

I suppose everyone knows why sandwiches are so-called? It's a well known story anyway. I also know why it's called Jurassic Park, just in case there's anyone thicker than me out there

Did you know that the "traditional" Indian meals served here - I'm talking about kormas, tikkas and the like - aren't actually traditional foods in India? If you visit an Indian household for an Indian meal, you'll find quite different food. The meals you get in restaurants and take aways were actually made up a couple of generations ago to entice British people into eating them.

Not a lot of people know that!

Nx

joanlawson

Well, the meals served in the Kang household are delicious :!:

Can you explain about Jurassic Park, Nina :?:

ninakang

Thank you Joan, will pass on your compliments to the chef!

Jurassic Park, seriously? Well, during the era dinosaurs were on this planet, every period was given a name and Jurassic is named after one of them. Never did get round to watching that film actually...

Nx

joanlawson

Hi Nina

I found out a bit more about the origin of Jurassic.

The word Jurassic derives from the French Jurassique, of the Jura Mountains.

The period ? the age of the dinosaurs (it separates the Triassic from the Cretaceous) ? was named for the Jura mountains because the mountain range's limestones were formed during this period.

joanlawson

Here's an interesting word to start the week:

Floccinaucinihilipilification

describing something as worthless (the longest non-technical word in the second edition of the Oxford English Dictionary)

Don't ask me how to pronounce it :!: :shock:

joanlawson

Thanks for that one, Del. I haven't mastered that science yet!

Here's some unusual words

gambrinous................. being full of beer

gargalesthesia................. The sensation caused by tickling.

ginglyform................. hinge-shaped

joanlawson

It's OK, Rehab, you're probably just a bit discombobulated.