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In the international food hall
Then there’s the question of where foods are from. French fries are probably from 17th century Belgium. Recipes for French toast is first recorded in the Middle Ages, well before there was a France, and the French themselves call it “pain perdu” or lost bread—probably because it’s a good way to use up those stale scraps which would otherwise be lost. Jerusalem artichokes are neither artichokes nor from Jerusalem. They proliferate everywhere from Canada to Florida, but nowhere near the Middle East. Some say the name is derived from “girasole,” or sunflower in Italian. German chocolate cake is reportedly from 19th century America, invented by a man with the last name German. And Danish pastries are actually Austrian in origin.
cucumber tree, native to North America, has cucumber-shaped fruits
WELCOME TO PAGE 471 - THE MISNOMERS PAGE !!!
Giving credit where it’s not due
Pythagorus was by no means the first to come up with the theorem that allows us to solve for the sides of a right triangle: the Babylonians, ancient Egyptians, Chinese, and Indians all recorded their own versions of it hundreds of years before him. Chinese checkers are neither checkers nor from China; they were invented in Germany in the late 19th century. Authentic Panama hats are made in Ecuador but were first marketed and sold in Panama. And Arabic numerals were first used in India.
Hitting the right note
Musical misnomers form their own small special category: Both the French horn and the English horn are really variants of the German horn. The name Jews harp is a corruption of “jaws harp,” since the instrument is gripped between the teeth while being played. Violin strings are known as catgut but they’re really made from the intestines of sheep.
Nothing but the facts, ma’am
U.S. history is full of misnomers. Native Americans were called “Indians” because Columbus was seeking a new route to India when he landed in North America. The Battle of Bunker Hill, the first skirmish in the American Revolution, was mostly fought on nearby Breed’s Hill. The shootout at the O.K. Corral took place down the street in a vacant lot.
Islands in the stream
But America has no monopoly on misleading names. For example, London’s Isle of Dogs isn’t really an island; it’s a spit of land jutting out into the Thames and surrounded by water on three sides. The Canary Islands do have lots of canaries but they also once had a lot of wild dogs, so the name is actually a corruption of canis, meaning dog in Latin.
A question of numbers
The Thousand Days’ War in Colombia was 1,130 days long. The Hundred Years’ War between England and France went on for 116 years. And there are 1,864 islands in the Thousand Islands archipelago along the U.S.-Canadian border. But the Thirty Years’ War in central Europe really did only last 30 years.
desert willow tree, native to the southwestern United States, has showy flowers
English holly tree, with red berries, is associated with winter holidays
Close but no cigar
Finally, we just can’t leave out our favorite misnomer: however hard you may howl when you hit it, your funny bone is the ulnar nerve, not a bone.
flamingo lily tree, native to Colombia, has vibrant pink flowers
Fly off the handle
In the days before mass merchandising, poorly fastened axe heads would fly off while they were in use. The result was dangerous, hence why the phrase is used to describe risky behavior with unpredictable results.
Steal someone’s thunder
In the early 1700s, English dramatist John Dennis invented a device that imitated the sound of thunder for a play he was working on. The play flopped. Soon after, Dennis noted that another play in the same theater was using his sound-effects device. He angrily exclaimed, “That is my thunder, by God; the villains will play my thunder, but not my play.” The story got around London, and the idiom was born.
golden fig tree, with golden-yellow fruits, is cultivated for its sweet taste
Chew the fat
Originally a sailor’s term, this phrase refers to the days before refrigeration when ships carried food that wouldn’t spoil. One of them was salted pork skin, which consisted largely of fat. Sailors would only eat it if all other food was gone… and they often complained as they did. This idle chatter became known as “chewing the fat.”
hawthorn berry tree, known for its medicinal properties, produces red berries
White elephant
Legend has it, kings of Siam (now Thailand) used to give actual white elephants to people they wanted to punish. Yes, the elephants were valuable and respected, but that also meant they were expensive to take care of, so the kings hoped the present would drive the recipient into financial ruin.
By and large
Sailors were the first to refer to things “by and large.” The first part of the phrase refers to the nautical term “full and by,” meaning a boat was traveling into the wind. On the other hand, “large” means the wind is coming from behind. “By and large,” then, would mean the wind is coming from any direction—giving rise to the current meaning of “in general.”
eastern hemlock tree, native to North America, has short, flat needles
Once in a blue moon
A “blue moon” is a real astronomical phenomenon, referring to the second full moon in the same month. It’s a rare occurrence—usually just once every 2.7 years—which is how the phrase came to be. Usually, a blue moon just looks gray or white like any other full moon, but on even rarer occasions, the moon actually does seem to change color. During volcanic eruptions or forest fires, the oils in smoke can make the moon appear blue, according to NASA.
The fan palm tree, native to Madagascar, has fan-shaped leaves and is grown as an ornamental
Under the weather
Originally, sailors used the phrase “under the weather bow,” referring to the side of the ship that would get the brunt of the wind during storms. To avoid getting seasick when the waves got rough, they’d bunker down in their cabins—literally under that bad weather—to let the storm pass.
The guggul tree, native to India, produces resin with medicinal uses in traditional medicine
Give the cold shoulder
Surprisingly, this doesn’t just refer to coldly turning your back on someone. Etymologists think the phrase originated from medieval etiquette. After a feast, hosts in England would subtly signal that the meal was over (and it was time for guests to leave) by serving a cold slice of pork, mutton, or beef shoulder.
Let the cat out of the bag
Who would even put a cat in a bag? The answer may lie in medieval markets, where people used to sell piglets tied in bags for farmers to carry home. A shady dealer might swap the piglet in the sack with a less expensive animal, such as a cat. So when you let the cat out of the bag, you were exposing the con to everyone.
The seven-year itch
Before the phrase became associated with Marilyn Monroe’s iconic skirt, the “seven-year itch” felt much worse than a playful subway breeze. The term originally referred to scabies, an itchy infection caused by mites burrowing underneath a person’s skin. Its “seven-year” moniker referred to how long the bugs could linger.
The ice cream bean tree, native to Central and South America, has sweet pulp inside its pods
Gadzooks!
“Zounds!” “Egad!” “Cripes!” These silly exclamations, called minced oaths, were originally Bible-friendly alternatives to swearing. The idea was that if you shouted “Gadzooks!” instead of “God’s hooks!”—a reference to the nails from the Crucifixion—you could stub your toe without running afoul of the third commandment. Other minced oaths: gosh (“God”) and jeepers (“Jesus”). Christians have been shouting “gadzooks” since the 1690s.
The heavenly bamboo tree, despite its name, is not a bamboo but has bamboo-like foliage