Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Pie in the Sky and other Food for Thought

Maybe it’s just the way the cookie crumbles but it seems so many of our food expressions involve unhealthy foods. Cake and pie are popular for idioms; I’ve even been known to use “have your cake and eat it too” in weight loss sessions with clients. Have you ever thought about the origin of these idioms? Maybe you should use your noodle.

I chose some of my favorite foods to focus on:
In a pickle- which means in a quandary always seemed like a strange expression to me.  I love pickles and being inside a pickle doesn't seem like any more of an issue as being in any other food. In a pickle refers to stewed vegetables that are mixed up in order to become pickled. There is also a Shakespearian reference to being in a pickle from the Tempest (trust me I didn’t know this until I looked it up). Alonso says “how camest thou in this pickle.” And then there’s the slang word “pickled”, anyone know what this means?

Salad Days- this expression refers to youth. When I think of my younger years, I would call them Hostess Days, Fluffanutter Days or if I’m being poetic Ravioli Days. If anything, salad days are when you get older and need to watch things more carefully. However, Cleopatra (in Antony and Cleopatra) said “My salad days When I was green in judgment.” Here green, as in inexperienced, refers to green shoots of spring versus something consumed in an effort to be healthy.  

Salt of the earth- I love this expression and its connotations referring to people who are unpretentious, honest and good. There are many who trace this expression to biblical roots. An interesting explanation was that in the Moroccan city of Fez, the Jews, in the Jewish quarter, did much of the salt mining. They were considered very useful to the community and fostered this saying.

Eggs in one basket- Nothing beats a practical tip, I’m also fond of bigger fish to fry but thought I’d stay away from frying in favor of healthier foods. Eggs in one basket refers to when eggs were transported in baskets on wagons, if one basket fell off, presumably all the eggs in it would break. I like the idea of spreading risk but also appreciated Mark Twain’s alternative suggestion to “put all your eggs in one basket and watch the basket.”

Big Cheese/Cheesy- someone referred to as “the big cheese” is the opposite of salt of the earth. The big cheese is similar to what we commonly call “cheesy”. In culinary terms, nothing is more delicious than something cheesy but apart from food cheesy means something cliché’ or unimpressive. Even more unusual is that this term has its roots with the British in India coming from the Urdu word chiz meaning “thing”. So, do we have India to thank for cheese? That’s “bananas”

I hope you’re holidays aren’t “nutty as a fruitcake”, don’t “hit the sauce” and may you “bring home the bacon” in the New Year.
What’s your favorite food expression? Do you know what “pickled” means? Can you name 3 produce-centric idioms?

25 comments:

  1. Fun post! OK, I am half-asleep, but here goes:

    Dear Lauren,
    You are the APPLE of my eye! As far as nutrition blogs, yours is top TOMATO! Lastly, I'd like you to know, there is nothing CORNY about you...

    xo
    Cameo

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  2. I love eggs, but I separate my boiled eggs into a different container. Does that count as not keeping them all in the same basket? :)

    I take a boiled egg to work for lunch with my salad and one day the kids replaced my boiled egg with an uncooked one. When I tapped the egg onto my desk to crack it, I got a raw egg all over the place... I love my kids, I love my kids.. must keep repeating..

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  3. I'm pretty sure being pickled has something to do with hitting the sauce.

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  4. This is a great post! Here are two more, both related to fruit spread: Have you found yourself "in a jam?" Beyonce doesn't think we are ready for her "jelly."

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  5. Wait- what does "jelly" mean here, giggle? Stephanie- bingo. Uh oh Bzybee seems like your kids need to learn not to put all eggs into one basket as well. I 've taken to x-ing the boiled ones. Cameo- can you say I'm not corny after this post?

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  6. FUN, lauren! what a funny and light post, perfect for the craziness of the holiday. i always liked "cool as a cucumber"...

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  7. These are awesome! Thanks for sharing.The only one that comes to mind at the moment off the top of my head is "a few fries short of a happy meal." I guess calling someone a tough cookie works too.

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  8. Ooh Jess never heard the fries expression, somehow I don't think we can trace that to literary roots. And Devin- you nailed it. Too tired to use my brain (aka noodle).

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  9. I put my three on Facebook. Here they are again: Carrot on a stick, just fell off the turnip truck, like a bump on a pickle.

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  10. Ha! You are right! I never thought about how many sayings reference food!
    The only saying that comes to mind, is "you are the apple of my eye". Now I will be thinking of these all day. ha.

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  11. Caron- don't know any of yours, translation?

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  12. Oops! Carrot on a stick - like getting a stubborn donkey to move forward by holding a carrot in front of his face and the carrot is tied to the stick.
    Turnip truck - Someone who is new or young or naive. My parents would ask me if I thought they'd just fallen off the turnip truck when I tried to fool them.
    Bump on a pickle: someone who is lazy is like a bump on a pickle - just sits there doing nothing.

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  13. "Don't count/catch all your chickens until they've hatched." Thanks for making me think and for keeping my brain active this morning Lauren!! Took me awhile to come up with this one :-)

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  14. Caron- got it with carrot sort of like carrot as incentive. Bump on pickle, I thought bump on a log (like pickle better). EA- such a good one, I tend to assume chickens will not hatch vrs premature counting.

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  15. How 'bout them apples?

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  16. Fun =)
    How about cut the cheese, shaped like an apple or a pear, sold a lemon, hit in the nuts, couch potato, knuckle sandwich, going bananas...

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  17. I knew someone would come with a farting idiom. Apple/pear shaped- good. I feel badly that a lemon is something that doesn't work.

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  18. fun post I like ee by gum and a bottle of rum!

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  19. I can think of "If life gives you lemons, make lemondade!"

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  20. A good one nat, although, as I said above, I'm ok with life giving me lemons, love lemons themselves (organic ones).

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  21. Lauren, what fun!
    "Don't cry over spilled/spilt milk" is one of my favorites -- a great visual reminder to brush off trifle failures and embarrassments and cheer up!
    Happy, healthy holidays to you and yours.

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  22. A fun post1 I cant really think of any that havent already been mentioned. Other than something being the "bread and butter", in other words, the basics.

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  23. I've tried to read everyone's and I'm not sure this one was said "I've got bigger fish to fry!" My mom would always say that when someone would do something stupid!

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  24. Allison, I love bigger fish to fry (I mentioned it as an "unhealthy" food expression ha). Bread and butter Same I would change to berries and brown rice (my basics). And Ayala love "don't cry over spilled milk" although I think it's ok to cry over spilled wine especially red on white things.

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  25. I thought of apple of my eye but somebody beat me to it. What else is new?

    Happy Holidays Lauren! Hope you and the family are having a wonderful one.

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