51吃瓜 of the Day
curlicue
noun
an ornamental, fancy curl or twist, as in a signature.
More about curlicue
Curlicue 鈥渁n ornamental, fancy curl or twist鈥� is a compound of the adjective curly and the noun cue. Curly, from the verb curl, appears in Middle English as crulled 鈥渃urled鈥� and is either derived from or related to Middle Dutch crul 鈥渃url,鈥� of Germanic origin and related to the name of the rolled pastry cruller. The -ru- of crul became the -ur- of curl as the result of metathesis, a linguistic phenomenon in which sounds switch places. Metathesis is also responsible for creating third, thirteen, and thirty from Old English thridda, 迟丑谤脓辞迟脓苍别, and 迟丑谤墨迟颈驳. The cue part of curlicue is most likely from French queue 鈥渢ail,鈥� via Old French from Latin cauda or 肠艒诲补 鈥渢ail,鈥� which we discussed in the recent 51吃瓜 of the Day podcast about codicil. Alternatively, this cue could be in reference to the letter Q and its easily identifiable loops when written in cursive. Curlicue was first recorded in English circa 1840.
how is curlicue used?
Armenia is one of the few countries in the world with its own alphabet鈥攊nvented in the fifth century by St. Mesrop Mashtots, an Armenian linguist. The curved letters are full of loops and curlicues, reminiscent of Ethiopia’s Amharic, 鈥� although researchers say there is no connection.
The book is also very much a celebration of Cass [Elliott]鈥檚 beauty and her music, which often intertwine visually by way of [P茅n茅lope] Bagieu鈥檚 curlicue lines and handwritten text, as when the familiar lyrics 鈥淎llll the leaves are brown 鈥� 鈥� swirl together with cigarette smoke.
curlicue
crapulous
adjective
given to or characterized by gross excess in drinking or eating.
More about crapulous
Crapulous 鈥渃haracterized by gross excess in drinking or eating鈥� derives from Late Latin 肠谤腻辫耻濒艒蝉耻蝉 鈥渋nclined to drunkenness,鈥� from Latin 肠谤腻辫耻濒补 鈥渄runkenness,鈥� either derived from or related to Ancient Greek 办谤补颈辫谩濒脓 鈥渄runkenness, hangover.鈥� A common misconception is that crapulous is connected to a certain word for 鈥渆xcrement,鈥� but the resemblance between these two words is a happy coincidence. While crapulous has a clear history, the more colorful term crap is in fact of uncertain origin鈥攑erhaps from Middle Dutch krappe 鈥渟omething cut off or separated,鈥� perhaps via Old French from a Frankish cognate of English scrape, perhaps from Medieval Latin crappa 鈥渃haff,鈥� or perhaps related to English crop. Crapulous was first recorded in English in the 1530s.
how is crapulous used?
Much wine was drunk and all pretenses of table manners were soon discarded. Leon and [Vivian] planted their elbows on the table and slurped the chicken from the bones with noisy, lustful abandon 鈥�. refilling one another鈥檚 wineglasses with increasing frequency throughout the meal, uncorking one bottle of wine after another, often uncorking another bottle even before the previous had been depleted of its contents .鈥� Both of them ate and drank to bubbling crapulous excess.
Fettes was an old drunken Scotchman, a man of education obviously, and a man of some property, since he lived in idleness. He had come to Debenham years ago, while still young, and by a mere continuance of living had grown to be an adopted townsman 鈥�. His place in the parlour at the George, his absence from church, his old, crapulous, disreputable vices, were all things of course in Debenham.
crapulous
brasserie
noun
an unpretentious restaurant, tavern, or the like, that serves drinks, especially beer, and simple or hearty food.
More about brasserie
Brasserie 鈥渁n unpretentious restaurant or tavern鈥� is a borrowing from French, in which the term means 鈥渂rewery,鈥� though it is not related to the English word brew. Brasserie comes from the Middle French verb brasser 鈥渢o brew,鈥� which likely derives via Gallo-Latin bracem from a word for a kind of grain used to make malt in Gaulish, an extinct Celtic language once spoken in France. Similar words for 鈥渕alt鈥� still exist today in modern Celtic languages, such as Irish Gaelic braich and Welsh brag. The French suffix -erie in brasserie indicates location and is also found in terms such as patisserie 鈥減astry shop鈥� and boulangerie 鈥渂read shop,鈥� and the suffix鈥檚 English cognate, -ery, is present in bakery, distillery, fishery, and refinery. Brasserie was first recorded in English in the early 1860s.
how is brasserie used?
Paris once had a thriving micro-brew culture, housed in the brasseries that migrants from the province of Alsace brought to the city in the late 19th century. Brasseries were raucous and informal and open longer hours than traditional restaurants; they changed how Paris ate鈥攂ut with their fresh, individual, northern-style beers, they changed how the city drank too.
France’s masses have long flocked to brasseries knowing they can order anything at any hour, and to enjoy the scene: the writers, painters, models, stockbrokers, retired gents and couples on first dates, and the ever-present tourists.
brasserie