AWADmail Issue 186
November 12, 2005
A Compendium of Feedback on the Words in A.Word.A.Day
and Other Interesting Tidbits about Words and Languages
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From: Geert van derMeer (g.a.vandermeerATtpgpost.nl)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--amuse-bouche
Refer: http://wordsmith.org/words/amuse-bouche.html
It is interesting to note that originally, "amuse-gueule" was the term
and not considered as informal or vulgar at all. According to my French
Dictionary (Petit Robert, 1993), "amuse-gueule" dates back to 1946,
while "amuse-bouche" didn't appear until 1980, defined as a euphemism for
"amuse-gueule". My Petit Larousse dictionary of 1968 only mentions the
original term.
I was born and educated in France and have lived there until 1972, and I
remember being quite "amused" when I first heard the word "amuse-bouche".
In my perception, it sounded like a case of hypercorrection.
I now live in the Netherlands, where restaurants usually shorten the term
to "amuse" (or "amuses" in plural). Nowadays in France, some restaurants
have pushed the idea of keeping you busy by offering something that is not
very different from a first course. They call it an "assiette de patience"
(literally "patience plate").
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From: Thomas Sauzereau (thsauzereauATlaposte.net)
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--amuse-bouche
Just a personal, amused remark about the use of amuse-bouche and its more
informal twin amuse-gueule. Though I am a native French speaker, I shall of
course not prevail myself with any general and normative knowledge of the
French language, but several times it has surprised me to hear
English-speaking guests (whether in France or abroad) talk of amuse-bouche.
For indeed I do not recall ever using it myself nor hearing it used around
me, while amuse-gueule frequently comes up in parties and even restaurants.
It is true that gueule is the word for an animal's mouth, and from then on
a slightly vulgar way to refer to someone's face and "ta gueule!" is more or
less the equivalent of "shut the f up!", potentially just as aggressive. but
I doubt that anyone in France would get upset when having one of his dishes
referred to as an amuse-gueule (unless that very dish was supposed to be
the main course!).
I find this representative of the use of foreign words which works the other
way around (English words used in French) as well. In that case an English
speaker might enjoy the thought that he or she is using a French, thus
possibly more exotic or prestigious word, while he or she is actually just
making it a living part of his own language. That's what makes languages so
rich and so hard to translate for people like me studying them!
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From: Steve Thomas (stypeATsccoast.net)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--amuse-bouche
The discussion of amuse-gueule reminds me of the Southern US fried cornbread
appetizer known as "hushpuppies". In my region, at restaurants specializing
in seafood (traditionally fried seafood), it is customary for diners to be
presented with a basket of these delights immediately upon being seated at
the table.
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From: Christina Vasilevski (christinavasilevskiATtrentu.ca)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--macedoine
Refer: http://wordsmith.org/words/macedoine.html
EU has recommended Macedonia for membership. As a Macedonian-Canadian
myself, I'm happy to hear the news, and feel that your choice of the word
"macedoine" for today is an odd little omen of good luck for the country.
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From: Mary Wigle (adamsATa-plus-a-design.com)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--vinaigrette
Refer: http://wordsmith.org/words/vinaigrette.html
A vinaigrette is also a small (usually silver) box with an hinged cover
and a second interior drilled cover. These boxes were apt to contain a
sponge soaked in vinegar (vinaigre in French). Vinegar fragrances were
sniffed by ladies in the 18th and 19th C in case of slight illness or faint
(often women whose corsets were tied tightly). These small items are now
highly prized collectibles (my mother has some 40-50 of them) and can cost
upward of $500.00, depending on provenance.
A nice example of the vinaigrette: http://www.silvercollection.it/pagina6.html
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From: Heather March (ideasofmarchATgmail.com)
Subject: Chef vocabulary
As a chef, I agree - sometimes there is no way to express what you want
without using the classical French vocab (c.f. mirepoix, julienne; neither
of which can be explained without using many, many more English words).
But here in New Zealand, about as far as one can get from la belle France,
hors d'oeuvres have been replaced with "starters", "pass-arounds", and
"amuse bouches", possibly because in Australia, one understands, they are
frequently pronounced "horses' doofers" or "horses' doovers".
About 12 years ago, I had Sunday lunch in a small town cafe in France. It
was one of those "prix fixe" menus, and for a very small investment the menu
read "Hors d'oeuvres, rosbif, fromages, glaces". In the cafe, we thought we
had inadvertently joined in someone's wedding festivities. The hors d'oeuvres
consisted of a 10-yard long groaning sideboard buffet!
Oh, and bottomless bread and bottomless wine, for which they would not let
us pay for our extra jug.
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From: Sarah Viaggi (sarah_viaggiATsanjosemed.com)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--saute
Refer: http://wordsmith.org/words/saute.html
Every time I see this word, I smile as I remember back when I was taking
ballet lessons and learned that ballet uses the same French vocabulary. I
used to chuckle that I could sauté (jump) while I sauté (make the food bits
jump). Keep up the good work and keep smiling!
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From: Carolanne Reynolds (ggATwordsmith.org)
Subject: Re: AWADmail Issue 185
Refer: http://wordsmith.org/awad/awadmail185.html
* Undecimal:
I mentioned Onzieme as a name for the eleventh child. Another form is Onesime,
the name of the father of Quebecois hockey player Maurice "Rocket" Richard.
Singer Celine Dion (Quebecois, now in Las Vegas) is the fourteenth child in
her family.
* More on [its/it's] for those not uninterested:
Some readers wondered if it should have been "its" in my comments
"it's lack of". To clarify, the complete sentence is: "it is lack of love."
It could not be [its] because there is no antecedent.
............................................................................
Modern English is the Wal-Mart of languages: convenient, huge, hard to
avoid, superficially friendly, and devouring all rivals in its eagerness
to expand. -Mark Abley, journalist (1955- )
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