Food Fight Friday: Food Words

Today, was a long work day. I got roped into, somewhat voluntarily, into moving machines in and out of a place I'm responsible for, and it's at least one of two major accounts I oversee. In other words, I needed to be there.

The problem is, it ended up making for a twelve hour day, since I never was able to catch up after what amounted to an extra hour and a half longer than I would have been had I just taken off to the next place.

So, here I am with another late night post, hoping to get it done before Friday turns into Saturday in my part of the hemisphere.

Now, by now you're probably thinking, Thanks, Glen, for the work update, but what does any of this have to do with Food Fight Friday, or Grandpa Gotta Cook? Where's the beef?!?

More Like, Where's The Turkey?

Yesterday morning when I went down to the shop to reload my van, I found this guy wandering around the parking lot. I had to sort of go around him so as not to hit him and make him into premature Thanksgiving Dinner.

I'm told that he is a fairly frequent visitor, as he lives in the area, and apparently roams around looking for something to eat. He seemed to be interested in the grass and a few things lying in the road, but as far as I could tell, there didn't seem to be much of anything to eat lying around. I'm not even sure what young wild male turkeys eat, anyway.

So, I looked it up.

It appears they eat a variety of different things, which does include grass, leaves, shoots and other plant foliage.

However, they really like acorns, hickory nuts, beechnuts or walnuts, are rather fond of seeds and gain, and get into wild grapes, berries, crabapples, etc.

You also can find them munching on insects (grasshoppers, spiders, caterpillars) and reptiles, like lizards and snakes. Snails, slugs and worms apparently are on the menu, too.

Now, what our young friend may have been searching for in the parking lot was tiny bits of asphalt, sand or bitty bits of gravel for good digestion.

So, now you know what I know about the turkey diet.

All Well And Good, But This Is Still About Fowls, Not Food

Well, now, hold on. I think we should back up a little bit and consider how the English language works as far as how we call our food versus the animals they come from.

It seems to me that when it comes to turkey, we can use it interchangeably. We will say, "Please pass the turkey," and yet everyone will know that we are not referring to the bird but to its meat.

However, when do we ever say, "Please pass the cow," or "Please pass the pig"? Rarely, I would imagine. Instead, we refer to the part of the animal we're eating, or we go by how it was processed. We might say, beef, ground beef or hamburger, steak, brisket or roast when talking about cow meat, while with a pig or hog, we will say, pork, ham, bacon, sausage, etc., etc.

Now, turkey isn't the only term that means both the animal and the meat that comes from it. Chicken is more or less the same thing. "Please pass the chicken." Now, in either case of turkey or chicken, we may need to get more specific as to what body part we might want, such as leg or breast, or potentially a wing or thigh. So, there is some compartmentalization going on, just more in an anatomical way rather than a kind of cut or so forth.

We might even say, "Pass the goat," or "Pass the lamb." We wouldn't say, "Can I have more sheep, please."

Okay, So, This Is About Food Words

Exactly. Very important when talking about food is the words we use to identify or describe them. As much as Food Fight Friday is about the content, the topic, the meal itself, it's about the way all of that is presented. And while that includes pictures, it almost always means words, too.

I like words. In the case of food, they ensure that I will get to eat something I like, rather than something I won't like. I feel I need to be very specific and choosey about the words I use to convey what I want to eat. Very important. It can make all the difference.

Okay. Whatever...

There is one thing about turkey that I feel we should explore. It has other potential uses in English beyond the meat or the bird. Other animals do, too, but let's stick with turkey, since or friend up there is more or less what created this idea.

If you call someone a turkey—they may be referring to you as being silly, goofy or impish. That's how my Dad used to use it. The dictionary though has it a little harsher—a stupid, foolish, or inept person. I'm almost certain that's not what my Dad was referring to when he called me a turkey.

It can also mean a failure or a flop, it's what we call three strikes in a row when bowling, and if you stop smoking, drinking or some other addictive substance or behavior, we say it was quit cold turkey.

On a related note, you could potentially quit cold turkey from drinking Wild Turkey Bourbon Whiskey, and no longer feel like a turkey in the process.

One of the distinctions I believe the word turkey has, is that it's the only animal or fowl I can think of that is also a country. You would not be called a turkey if you were from Turkey. That would make you a Turk, or Turkish.

Some of us are old enough to remember the term jive turkey. It's similar to what a person being called a turkey would be, but changes the connotation to unreliable, dishonest or someone who makes empty promises.

Still not so good to be considered a turkey. Which makes me wonder what our friend, or his ancestors perhaps, did to get such a negative rap. You probably won't see them as the mascot of a successful sports team, while Falcons, Eagles, Seahawks and even Ducks are pretty common. "Gooooooooooo Turkeys!" just doesn't have quite the same ring or fierceness to it. Of course, there aren't too many chicken mascots running around, either.

What If It Had Been A Stray Cat?

Not quite as novel, nor as food-centric, though I know cats are eaten in some parts of the world. I'm pretty sure you would say, "Pass the cat," but that you wouldn't want to be catty. Cat got your tongue? I'd love to know how that particular phrase got started.

So, I looked it up. Kind of gross. I think I'll stop now.

Until next time...

Enjoy!

_{Image courtesy of Glen Anthony Albrethsen}