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Food Terms We Loathe/Misuse


Bux

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AAAAARGGGHHH!

Someone said "sammiches" on this thread!

"Veggies" and "shrooms" are also The Devil's Language.

Guac?

I have fortunately never heard that but even reading it is a vile experience.

Don't forget the vile "sketti."

Charlie

Walled Lake, Michigan

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There's nothing wrong with writing EVOO. But saying it is goofy.

How about naming your restaurant after it?

Gah.

As for "sketti", I have fortunately never actually heard someone say this.

Baby-talk about food is asinine.

"I've caught you Richardson, stuffing spit-backs in your vile maw. 'Let tomorrow's omelets go empty,' is that your fucking attitude?" -E. B. Farnum

"Behold, I teach you the ubermunch. The ubermunch is the meaning of the earth. Let your will say: the ubermunch shall be the meaning of the earth!" -Fritzy N.

"It's okay to like celery more than yogurt, but it's not okay to think that batter is yogurt."

Serving fine and fresh gratuitous comments since Oct 5 2001, 09:53 PM

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There's nothing wrong with writing EVOO. But saying it is goofy.

How about naming your restaurant after it?

Gah.

As for "sketti", I have fortunately never actually heard someone say this.

Baby-talk about food is asinine.

If I may add the equally annoying abbreviation 'mater to the list. God I hate that.

Also I will be very happy if I never hear the term "heirloom" again. It is the "artisinal" of 2004.

Get your bitch ass back in the kitchen and make me some pie!!!

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EVOO may be appropriate when writing a recipe, but even then it implies that the cook is incapable of selecting a suitable oil (wich may be the case). By the way, most EVOO on the market is pure rat piss and you would be better served to select an oil on its taste rather than its virginal status or how long the neck of the bottle is. For 90% of applications you don't really want EV, you just want OO.

The term foodie used to bother me. Now I think it is the perfect term for santuko toting, EVOO drinking, food snobs.

The term "maters" for tomatos pisses me off..especially when they are about $300 a box.

Using the descriptor "sublime" when you don't know what you are tasting.

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EVOO may be appropriate when writing a recipe, but even then it implies that the cook is incapable of selecting a suitable oil (wich may be the case).  By the way, most EVOO on the market is pure rat piss and you would be better served to select an oil on its taste rather than its virginal status or how long the neck of the bottle is.  For 90% of applications you don't really want EV, you just want OO.

The term foodie used to bother me.  Now I think it is the perfect term for santuko toting, EVOO drinking, food snobs.

funny, i use EVO for almost all applications.Of course filling the fryer with 40lbs of EVOO might not be the best idea......don't own a santuko though :)

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Bitch-slap. Oh how I hate that term. It is truly vile. Okay, it's not food related, but it is used here all the time. So, while we're at it, just thought I'd mention it.  :unsure: Carry on.  :smile:

And really, it is a misnomer as well. If the term derives from where I imagine it does (the habit of Pimps to sometimes have to 'slap a bitch' for whatever supposed wrongdoing said pimp suspected) then really the term should be 'Pimp Slap' (which you occasionally here, but not as often). I would also be accepting of 'Slapped like a Bitch' but that is somewhat more cumbersome.

So, really, we should be saying perhaps that Chef V was 'Slapped like a Bitch' in a recent series of NYT articles, or that the NYT 'Pimp Slapped' him. However, saying he was 'Bitch Slapped' certainly implies the wrong image.

He don't mix meat and dairy,

He don't eat humble pie,

So sing a miserere

And hang the bastard high!

- Richard Wilbur and John LaTouche from Candide

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And really, it is a misnomer as well.  If the term derives from where I imagine it does (the habit of Pimps to sometimes have to 'slap a bitch' for whatever supposed wrongdoing said pimp suspected) then really the term should be 'Pimp Slap' (which you occasionally here, but not as often).  I would also be accepting of 'Slapped like a Bitch' but that is somewhat more cumbersome. 

Nonsense. It's a noun modifier: a bitch slap is a slap delivered to a bitch, just as dog food is food delivered to a dog. It's true that there's ambiguity built into the construction, but, well, welcome to the English language.

And I agree that it's a vile term: but desperate times call for desperate measures. Nonetheless, if it offends anybody's sensibilities, feel free to substitute "dope slap".

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What about "smashed" potaoes?????

Why do the potatoes drink so much?

Actually, I wonder how well alcohol would go with mashed potatoes...

Just think of the possibilities:

Pissed Potatoes

Shit-Faced Spuds

Trashed Tubers

...

He don't mix meat and dairy,

He don't eat humble pie,

So sing a miserere

And hang the bastard high!

- Richard Wilbur and John LaTouche from Candide

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Without getting specific there's a certain waiter at a restaurant here in Seattle who, after bringing the dish that you ordered to the table, proceeds to point at each component that makes up the dish.

does he point to each component with his pinkie hovering dangerously closely to the food?

hate! hate! hate!

No, he uses his index finger. It's about 1 inch from each item he's pointing at. I want to swat him away like a fly and yell, I know what I frickin' ordered! Go away!

Drink!

I refuse to spend my life worrying about what I eat. There is no pleasure worth forgoing just for an extra three years in the geriatric ward. --John Mortimera

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What about "smashed" potaoes?????

Why do the potatoes drink so much?

Well, they really are kind of smashed up. What would you call them?

"I've caught you Richardson, stuffing spit-backs in your vile maw. 'Let tomorrow's omelets go empty,' is that your fucking attitude?" -E. B. Farnum

"Behold, I teach you the ubermunch. The ubermunch is the meaning of the earth. Let your will say: the ubermunch shall be the meaning of the earth!" -Fritzy N.

"It's okay to like celery more than yogurt, but it's not okay to think that batter is yogurt."

Serving fine and fresh gratuitous comments since Oct 5 2001, 09:53 PM

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I'm totally with whoever mentioned waiters asking if you want change when they come for the check. It's *SO* rude.

I'm a server and I absolutely agree. I hate to hear that line so much that I never pay with cash, so I avoid hearing it. It's something that I think you rarely hear in a fine dining restaurant (I would hope).

Derek

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i have an innate love of language and word forms. language is constantly evolving, on both a cultural and individual/idomatic level. while i might not like certain words or phrases, on the whole, i'm interested and entertained to see language / the human brain strut its stuff.

i find phrases like "bitch slap" incredibly objectionable, for reasons that are easily divined (by most). especially because "bitch" is equated to "femaleness," and inherent in that phrase is the notion that whatever else the transgression was, the individual got/deserved maltreatment because of some essential femaleness. that's incredibly offensive and objectionable.

re food lingo.... "sammich" cracked me up when i first heard it on an ep of MST3K, and i use it to specifically refer to a particular sub combo ordered only from a local deli (for my SO).

"foodie" doesn't ring my bell, but i use it because it's useful. i'm open to other suggestions. :)

re restaurant behaviors....i hate it when the staff removes my utensils along with my plate, and doesn't replace them. i also dislike when the staff lets the business end of a utensil (or rim of a glass, etc.) touch any part of their person -- clothing, skin, or even the menu. menus are probably not cleaned very often, and they're full of other peoples skin oils, detrius, etc. i take great pains that my utensils do not come in contact with the menu (or tabletop).

cheers :)

hc

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re restaurant behaviors....i hate it when the staff removes my utensils along with my plate, and doesn't replace them.  i also dislike when the staff lets the business end of a utensil (or rim of a glass, etc.) touch any part of their person -- clothing, skin, or even the menu.  menus are probably not cleaned very often, and they're full of other peoples skin oils, detrius, etc.  i take great pains that my utensils do not come in contact with the menu (or tabletop). 

cheers :)

hc

If your utensils do not come into contact with the tabletop, do you hold onto them through your entire meal :laugh::raz: ??

Derek

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If your utensils do not come into contact with the tabletop, do you hold onto them through your entire meal  :laugh:  :raz: ??

:)

my preferred presentation is rolled up in a napkin, or on a napkin. i still maintain these preferences, but will (of course ;) ) use utensils when they're on the table top. :) i'm not above wiping them off.

i'm not a felix unger-type, overall. but the utensil thing, well, i've got my prefernces. ;)

cheers :)

hc

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andisenjii (love your dog :) )...

how do you refuse the service of a long-nailed server, without it appearing awkward what have you? i see the soundness of your objection, i'm just wondering how you reject the server/ask for a new one at the crucial moment. :)

cheers :)

hc

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  • 1 month later...

OK, somethings really do annoy me:

Sammich!

Edjumacating!

Waiters asking to what degree I want chicken cooked? :hmmm:

Ordering a cappucino and the barister makes a latte because they don't know the difference.

I feel better now. :biggrin:

I resolve to not say veggies. ( I hear you.) But I don't think it ever crept into my vocabulary anyway.

I resolve not to question a vegetarian when they tell me they eat fish.

Edited by emmapeel (log)

Emma Peel

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