To mark the 100th episode of the Allusionist, here’s a celebratory parade of language-related facts.
Read moreAllusionist 11: Brunchtime
Brunch. What does it actually mean?
Yeah yeah, it's breakfast + lunch, but in function or in form? And what does it have to do with Lewis Carroll?
I chewed this over during brunch with Dan Pashman, host of the food podcast The Sporkful and author of Eat More Better. Fall down the rabbit hole of brunch semantics with us.
SIDE ORDERS:
Here is the transcript of this episode.
Want to know some more about the Rise of Brunch? Here you go.
The origins of the name of the classic brunch dish Eggs Benedict are as clear as Hollandaise.
Here's more about Lewis Carroll and his portmanteaus, and in case you're really hungry for arguments about semantics, here's Alice conversation with Humpty Dumpty in Through the Looking Glass.
In several languages, oranges are called variations of 'Portugal'.
Have any of you read Brunch: A History? I'm intrigued.
A lot of people seem to really hate brunch. Portlandia's 'Brunch Village' episode was fiction though, right?
RANDOMLY SELECTED WORD FROM THE DICTIONARY:
extrados
Next episode will appear in a fortnight. Don't stay awake the whole time until then just to game the word 'breakfast'. You'll only be spiting yourself.
- HZ
CREDITS
This episode was produced by Anne Saini, Dan Pashman and me, and recorded at the Square Diner on Leonard St, NYC. They were very sporting about it.
Hear Dan Pashman on WNYC's The Sporkful every week - thesporkful.com - and read his very funny and useful book Eat More Better. He is @TheSporkful on Twitter.
As well as producing The Sporkful, Anne Saini has her own podcast, Mother. She is @CitySpoonful on Twitter.
You can hear more of my conversation with Dan on this episode of The Sporkful. If you think he was going down some terrifying paths of logic about breakfast, wait till you hear his theories about fizzy water!
All* the music in this episode is by Martin Austwick. Hear and/or download more at thesoundoftheladies.bandcamp.com.
* Aside from the songs playing in the background at the diner. I can make out 'Alone' by Heart and Maroon 5's 'Moves Like Jagger'. Shurrup, Maroon 5!Find me at facebook.com/allusionistshow, twitter.com/allusionistshow and twitter.com/helenzaltzman.
Me and Dan in the Square Diner, post-porklift.
