Month: November 2016
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The etymological stuff of “stuffing”
Many of us will be stuffing ourselves with stuffing this Thanksgiving holiday. But we won’t be going for seconds of the original stuffing, if we consider the etymology of this delicious dish. Knowing one’s stuff Today, stuff can refer to just about anything: belongings, information, material. But in the 1330s, stuff protected knights: It was the quilted…
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Turkey (repost)
As Thanksgiving approaches, I’m busy giving thanks with some family visiting Ireland from the states. So, I thought I would dish up this post from the archives on the holiday’s main attraction: the origin of “turkey.” It turns out the bird and the country don’t just make for junior high geography jokes or World War I mnemonics.…
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“Hallelujah”: word of praise, lord of song
We lost yet another great this year: Leonard Cohen, the Canadian singer, songwriter, and poet who passed away at 82. Cohen was perhaps best known for his much storied and much covered song, “Hallelujah.” In honor of the legendary artist, let’s pay tribute to the etymology of one of his most defining words. Hallelujah Hallelujah…
Mashed Radish 