Items related to Ladyfingers and Nun's Tummies: From Spare Ribs...
Ladyfingers and Nun's Tummies: From Spare Ribs to Humble Pie--A Lighthearted Look at How Foods Got Their Names - Softcover
"Everything in [this book] is delightful to learn. Barnette takes us through languages and across millennia in a charming style . . . that offers endless food for thought." --The New Yorker
What makes the pretzel a symbol of religious devotion, and what pasta is blasphemous in every bite? How did a drunken brawl lead to the name lobster Newburg? What naughty joke is contained in a loaf of pumpernickel? Why is cherry a misnomer, and why aren't refried beans fried twice? You'll find the answers in this delectable exploration of the words we put into our mouths.
Here are foods named for the things they look like, from cabbage (from the Old North French caboche, "head") to vermicelli ("little worms"). You'll learn where people dine on nun's tummy and angel's breast. There are foods named after people (Graham crackers) and places (peaches), along with commonplace terms derived from words involving food and drink (dope, originally a Dutch word for "dipping sauce"). Witty, bawdy, and stuffed with stories, Ladyfingers and Nun's Tummies is a feast of history, culture, and language.
"Why didn't anyone think of this before? . . . What fun Martha Barnette has made of it all, every name for every dish explained and traced and jollied." --William F. Buckley, Jr.
What makes the pretzel a symbol of religious devotion, and what pasta is blasphemous in every bite? How did a drunken brawl lead to the name lobster Newburg? What naughty joke is contained in a loaf of pumpernickel? Why is cherry a misnomer, and why aren't refried beans fried twice? You'll find the answers in this delectable exploration of the words we put into our mouths.
Here are foods named for the things they look like, from cabbage (from the Old North French caboche, "head") to vermicelli ("little worms"). You'll learn where people dine on nun's tummy and angel's breast. There are foods named after people (Graham crackers) and places (peaches), along with commonplace terms derived from words involving food and drink (dope, originally a Dutch word for "dipping sauce"). Witty, bawdy, and stuffed with stories, Ladyfingers and Nun's Tummies is a feast of history, culture, and language.
"Why didn't anyone think of this before? . . . What fun Martha Barnette has made of it all, every name for every dish explained and traced and jollied." --William F. Buckley, Jr.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Review:
It's a browser's treasure of culinary etymological lore, but there's a table of contents that bespeaks a structure, starting with foods named for what they look like (such as rambutan, the sweet, red-bristle-covered fruit named for rambut, the Malay word for hair; or cabbage, which arose from the Old North French caboche, meaning head, making the phrase "a head of cabbage" redundant). Next comes a chapter on food names associated with religion and the supernatural (from angel-food cake and cappuccino, named after the brown cloaks of Capuchin monks, to pumpernickel, which supposedly means devil fart). There's a section on foods named by mistake, covering misnomers like geoduck, Bombay duck, and cold duck, none of which is related to the fowl, and a chapter on foods named for people and places, like Beef Wellington, Fettuccine Alfredo, Tootsie Rolls, and even Carpaccio (named after Renaissance artist Vittore Carpaccio, whose work often displayed a predilection for red).
From the Back Cover:
Barnette delves into the stories of foods named for what's done to them or what they do to us (such as bangers, British sausages that'll explode if not pricked before cooking, and aubergine, which derives, via Arabic and Persian, from the Sanskrit for antifart vegetable.) And finally, there's a chapter on words derived from other words about food and drink, such as the dog term mutt, which came from muttonhead as an insult applied to dull people, which came from the assumption of stupidity of sheep, i.e., mutton.
Its index makes it a bona fide language reference, but it's more than just an academic resource. It's an etymologist's dream, a food lover's fantasy, and a general delight for anyone who takes joy in words and trivia. In telling the stories behind the names of foods, Barnette proves, as writers M.F.K. Fisher, Harold McGee, and Calvin Trillin have before, that a love of food and a fascination with language are not incompatible. --Stephanie Gold
"Truly delicious . . . a vast multicultural smorgasbord of our culinary delights . . . a tour de force."--Los Angeles Times Book Review
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherKnopf Doubleday Publishing Group
- Publication date1998
- ISBN 10 0375702989
- ISBN 13 9780375702983
- BindingPaperback
- Number of pages224
- Rating
Buy New
Learn more about this copy
US$ 10.77
Shipping:
US$ 2.64
Within U.S.A.
Top Search Results from the AbeBooks Marketplace
Seller Image
Ladyfingers and Nun's Tummies : From Spare Ribs to Humble Pie--a Lighthearted Look at How Foods Got Their Names
Published by
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
(1998)
ISBN 10: 0375702989
ISBN 13: 9780375702983
New
Softcover
Quantity: 5
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Condition: New. Seller Inventory # 1078339-n
Buy New
US$ 10.77
Convert currency
Seller Image
Ladyfingers and Nun's Tummies: From Spare Ribs to Humble Pie--A Lighthearted Look at How Foods Got Their Names (Paperback or Softback)
Published by
Vintage 11/24/1998
(1998)
ISBN 10: 0375702989
ISBN 13: 9780375702983
New
Paperback or Softback
Quantity: 5
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Paperback or Softback. Condition: New. Ladyfingers and Nun's Tummies: From Spare Ribs to Humble Pie--A Lighthearted Look at How Foods Got Their Names 0.64. Book. Seller Inventory # BBS-9780375702983
Buy New
US$ 13.42
Convert currency
Seller Image
Ladyfingers and Nun's Tummies: From Spare Ribs to Humble Pie--A Lighthearted Look at How Foods Got Their Names by Barnett, Martha [Paperback ]
Print on Demand
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Soft Cover. Condition: new. This item is printed on demand. Seller Inventory # 9780375702983
Buy New
US$ 14.42
Convert currency
Stock Image
Ladyfingers and Nun's Tummies: From Spare Ribs to Humble Pie--A Lighthearted Look at How Foods Got Their Names
Published by
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
(1998)
ISBN 10: 0375702989
ISBN 13: 9780375702983
New
Softcover
Quantity: 1
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Condition: New. Buy with confidence! Book is in new, never-used condition 0.6. Seller Inventory # bk0375702989xvz189zvxnew
Buy New
US$ 15.55
Convert currency
Stock Image
Ladyfingers and Nun's Tummies: From Spare Ribs to Humble Pie--A Lighthearted Look at How Foods Got Their Names
Published by
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
(1998)
ISBN 10: 0375702989
ISBN 13: 9780375702983
New
Softcover
Quantity: > 20
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Condition: New. Seller Inventory # ABLIING23Feb2215580169249
Buy New
US$ 11.59
Convert currency
Stock Image
Ladyfingers and Nun's Tummies: From Spare Ribs to Humble Pie--A Lighthearted Look at How Foods Got Their Names
Published by
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
(1998)
ISBN 10: 0375702989
ISBN 13: 9780375702983
New
Softcover
Quantity: > 20
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Condition: New. Seller Inventory # I-9780375702983
Buy New
US$ 16.00
Convert currency
Stock Image
LADYFINGERS NUN'S TUMMIES From Spare Ribs to Humble PieA Lighthearted Look at How Foods Got Their Names
Published by
Penguin Random House LLC
(1998)
ISBN 10: 0375702989
ISBN 13: 9780375702983
New
PAP
Quantity: > 20
Seller:
Rating
Book Description PAP. Condition: New. New Book. Shipped from UK. THIS BOOK IS PRINTED ON DEMAND. Established seller since 2000. Seller Inventory # L0-9780375702983
Buy New
US$ 16.97
Convert currency
Stock Image
Ladyfingers and Nun's Tummies (Paperback)
Published by
Random House USA Inc, New York
(1998)
ISBN 10: 0375702989
ISBN 13: 9780375702983
New
Paperback
Quantity: 1
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. "Everything in this book is delightful to learn. Barnette takes us through languages and across millennia in a charming style . . . that offers endless food for thought." --The New YorkerWhat makes the pretzel a symbol of religious devotion, and what pasta is blasphemous in every bite? How did a drunken brawl lead to the name lobster Newburg? What naughty joke is contained in a loaf of pumpernickel? Why ischerry a misnomer, and why aren't refried beans fried twice? You'll find the answers in this delectable exploration of the words we put into our mouths.Here are foods named for the things they look like, from cabbage (from the Old North French caboche, "head") to vermicelli ("little worms"). You'll learn where people dine on nun's tummy and angel's breast. There are foods named after people (Graham crackers) and places (peaches), along with commonplace terms derived from words involving food and drink (dope, originally a Dutch word for "dipping sauce"). Witty, bawdy, and stuffed with stories, Ladyfingers and Nun's Tummies is a feast of history, culture, and language."Why didn't anyone think of this before? . . . What fun Martha Barnette has made of it all, every name for every dish explained and traced and jollied." --William F. Buckley, Jr. Combines culture, history, and language in the pursuit of culinary word origins. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9780375702983
Buy New
US$ 17.13
Convert currency
Stock Image
Ladyfingers and Nun's Tummies: From Spare Ribs to Humble Pie--A Lighthearted Look at How Foods Got Their Names
Published by
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
(1998)
ISBN 10: 0375702989
ISBN 13: 9780375702983
New
paperback
Quantity: > 20
Seller:
Rating
Book Description paperback. Condition: New. Vintage Books ed. Special order direct from the distributor. Seller Inventory # ING9780375702983
Buy New
US$ 13.00
Convert currency
Stock Image
Ladyfingers and Nun's Tummies: From Spare Ribs to Humble Pie--A Lighthearted Look at How Foods Got Their Names
Print on Demand
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Condition: New. PRINT ON DEMAND Book; New; Fast Shipping from the UK. No. book. Seller Inventory # ria9780375702983_lsuk
Buy New
US$ 13.59
Convert currency