Of dictionaries and food
15/12/15 05:29
I am a lover of dictionaries and a collector of books, but everything has its limits. While I have never ascribed to the philosophy that one should stop buying books simply because the bookshelves are full, the time has come for me to thin out the shelves. I’ve been doing a little bit of sorting, but much more will be needed. I’m trying to start by slowing the rate of purchase of new books.
One place where I don’t need to add to my collection is dictionaries. We have several, including two unabridged dictionaries that can be used to cross reference each other. The truth, however, is that I’ve turned to the computer for most of my dictionary needs. I can access the Oxford English Dictionary online and I can’t afford to own the set myself. Furthermore, the rate of evolution of the English language is so fast that printed dictionaries are rapidly becoming a thing of the past. The OED is no longer going to produce printed books, preferring to distribute its resources via the Internet.
But I must admit that I was intrigued by a review that I read recently of “Eatymology: The Dictionary of Modern Gastronomy,” by Josh Friedland. As you can tell by the title, Friedland enjoys making up new words when old ones fail to express his intentions. I think that the English language is probably already sufficient to describe our eating habits and desires, and I would recommend that a restaurant critics limit themselves to words that are already commonly understood. Still, I confess I am tempted by Friesland’s assertion that “we need new words and labels to give voice to our food obsessions and anxieties. And we especially need more words to describe gastronomic emoting.” Among Friedland’s favorites is “hangry.” The word probably needs no definition, most of us have experienced the emotion.
There already is plenty of food slang making its way into our vocabularies. The OED added “cakehole” (your mouth) and “cheffy,” (relating to the characteristic of a chef) among other words this year. And no less an authority than the Scrabble Tournament and Club Word List added “paczki,” (Polish donuts), “mojito” (a Cuban highball) and “yuzu” (a hybrid citrus fruit originating in East Asia). I doubt that I will be able to remember the correct spelling of paczki, but a 23-point word is worth a little effort to retain.
Lovers of words might remember 2015 as the year when lawyers locked horns over whether “mayo” is the same thing as “mayonnaise.” It probably doesn’t rank up there with global warming, gun control, terrorism or the Republican primary in terms of news, but Unilever, makers of Hellmann’s mayonnaise, got together with the American Egg Board and sued in an attempt to force the vegan food company Hampton Creek to change the name of their popular eggless product “Just Mayo.” Apparently the Food and Drug Administration defines mayonnaise as a mixture of vegetable oil, vinegar, egg yolk and lemon juice. The story contains e-mail leaks, dirty tricks, and the forced resignation of the chief executive of the American Egg Board. But the issue still has not been resolved. I guess we’ll have to wait at least until 2016 to find out whether mayo is the same as mayonnaise.
I’ve got quite a sweet tooth, and have thought that it might be a good idea to sample a “cherpumple,” a mixture of cherry pie, pumpkin pie, and apple pie. That way you wouldn't have to choose between the three excellent desserts, but could have them all at once. New York chief David Burke is arguing for a new name for the confection. He likes the name “turducken” that is used for a combination of turkey, duck and chicken and proposes the name “piecaken” for a new dessert that is combination of pie and cake. I’m not sure why he ends the word with “en.” I guess it is just that he thinks that piecaken would be a great next course after a meal of turducken. Then I learned of another possible dessert for such a meal. How about “pielogen?” That is a combination of pecan pie, cheesecake and a yule log welded together with chocolate buttercream. One slice of pielogen should be enough to destroy any simple diet.
I’ve been known to make fun of the French and their laws attempting to control the evolution of the language. And it seems to me that québécois can be among the most conservative when it comes to “la language francaise.” But the new official Canadian French word for “foodie” is “cuisinomane.” It definitely adds a bit of class to what had been a rather mundane word. I think that cuisinomane might just catch on. Being a native speaker of English, I have no qualms whatsoever about adopting words from other languages that I like. We’ve been doing that for millennia.
I don’t spend much time on Facebook, but I have noticed an increase in “foodspo” in that network. I know that some refer to it as food porn, but that is a rather tacky name for a beautiful picture of food. A friend posted a picture of an absolutely gorgeous birthday cake on my birthday and a couple of other Facebook friends thought that it was a picture of a cake that I got to eat. Not so. I’m trying to avoid too many sweets and my family complied with more appropriate food on my birthday. I did, however, like the picture. And I don’t think it is at all pornographic. I prefer the term “foodspo,” a combination of “food” and “inspo.” “Inspo” is a shortening of the word inspiration that has caught on in text messages and twitter.
The mention of text messages and twitter brings to mind what I see as the devolution of our language. I make a point of using complete words and, for the most part complete sentences in my text messages and twitter posts, but I may be the only one doing so. I’ve had to learn shortened and misspelled words in order to communicate through the medium. Maybe someone needs to come out with a dictionary of that particular form of slang.
Although such a dictionary is unlikely to come out in the form of a printed book, I’ve resolved that I don’t need one and it can be another book that I won’t be buying.
One place where I don’t need to add to my collection is dictionaries. We have several, including two unabridged dictionaries that can be used to cross reference each other. The truth, however, is that I’ve turned to the computer for most of my dictionary needs. I can access the Oxford English Dictionary online and I can’t afford to own the set myself. Furthermore, the rate of evolution of the English language is so fast that printed dictionaries are rapidly becoming a thing of the past. The OED is no longer going to produce printed books, preferring to distribute its resources via the Internet.
But I must admit that I was intrigued by a review that I read recently of “Eatymology: The Dictionary of Modern Gastronomy,” by Josh Friedland. As you can tell by the title, Friedland enjoys making up new words when old ones fail to express his intentions. I think that the English language is probably already sufficient to describe our eating habits and desires, and I would recommend that a restaurant critics limit themselves to words that are already commonly understood. Still, I confess I am tempted by Friesland’s assertion that “we need new words and labels to give voice to our food obsessions and anxieties. And we especially need more words to describe gastronomic emoting.” Among Friedland’s favorites is “hangry.” The word probably needs no definition, most of us have experienced the emotion.
There already is plenty of food slang making its way into our vocabularies. The OED added “cakehole” (your mouth) and “cheffy,” (relating to the characteristic of a chef) among other words this year. And no less an authority than the Scrabble Tournament and Club Word List added “paczki,” (Polish donuts), “mojito” (a Cuban highball) and “yuzu” (a hybrid citrus fruit originating in East Asia). I doubt that I will be able to remember the correct spelling of paczki, but a 23-point word is worth a little effort to retain.
Lovers of words might remember 2015 as the year when lawyers locked horns over whether “mayo” is the same thing as “mayonnaise.” It probably doesn’t rank up there with global warming, gun control, terrorism or the Republican primary in terms of news, but Unilever, makers of Hellmann’s mayonnaise, got together with the American Egg Board and sued in an attempt to force the vegan food company Hampton Creek to change the name of their popular eggless product “Just Mayo.” Apparently the Food and Drug Administration defines mayonnaise as a mixture of vegetable oil, vinegar, egg yolk and lemon juice. The story contains e-mail leaks, dirty tricks, and the forced resignation of the chief executive of the American Egg Board. But the issue still has not been resolved. I guess we’ll have to wait at least until 2016 to find out whether mayo is the same as mayonnaise.
I’ve got quite a sweet tooth, and have thought that it might be a good idea to sample a “cherpumple,” a mixture of cherry pie, pumpkin pie, and apple pie. That way you wouldn't have to choose between the three excellent desserts, but could have them all at once. New York chief David Burke is arguing for a new name for the confection. He likes the name “turducken” that is used for a combination of turkey, duck and chicken and proposes the name “piecaken” for a new dessert that is combination of pie and cake. I’m not sure why he ends the word with “en.” I guess it is just that he thinks that piecaken would be a great next course after a meal of turducken. Then I learned of another possible dessert for such a meal. How about “pielogen?” That is a combination of pecan pie, cheesecake and a yule log welded together with chocolate buttercream. One slice of pielogen should be enough to destroy any simple diet.
I’ve been known to make fun of the French and their laws attempting to control the evolution of the language. And it seems to me that québécois can be among the most conservative when it comes to “la language francaise.” But the new official Canadian French word for “foodie” is “cuisinomane.” It definitely adds a bit of class to what had been a rather mundane word. I think that cuisinomane might just catch on. Being a native speaker of English, I have no qualms whatsoever about adopting words from other languages that I like. We’ve been doing that for millennia.
I don’t spend much time on Facebook, but I have noticed an increase in “foodspo” in that network. I know that some refer to it as food porn, but that is a rather tacky name for a beautiful picture of food. A friend posted a picture of an absolutely gorgeous birthday cake on my birthday and a couple of other Facebook friends thought that it was a picture of a cake that I got to eat. Not so. I’m trying to avoid too many sweets and my family complied with more appropriate food on my birthday. I did, however, like the picture. And I don’t think it is at all pornographic. I prefer the term “foodspo,” a combination of “food” and “inspo.” “Inspo” is a shortening of the word inspiration that has caught on in text messages and twitter.
The mention of text messages and twitter brings to mind what I see as the devolution of our language. I make a point of using complete words and, for the most part complete sentences in my text messages and twitter posts, but I may be the only one doing so. I’ve had to learn shortened and misspelled words in order to communicate through the medium. Maybe someone needs to come out with a dictionary of that particular form of slang.
Although such a dictionary is unlikely to come out in the form of a printed book, I’ve resolved that I don’t need one and it can be another book that I won’t be buying.