Home » Discussion Forum

Discussion Forum—A Way with Words, a fun radio show and podcast about language

Discussion Forum (Archived)

Please consider registering
Guest
Forum Scope


Match



Forum Options



Min search length: 3 characters / Max search length: 84 characters
The forums are currently locked and only available for read only access
sp_TopicIcon
Looking for: Word for people who love food
Guest
1
2014/03/16 - 7:26am

Hello All,

My girlfriend and I think we heard a term mentioned on the show:  a very peculiar word  to describe someone who loves food or loves to eat. Not "epicure" not "gourmand", not Gourmet, not foodie. Never heard it before, never heard it since (but it has only been a week).  We suspect that we heard the word mentioned on the show of March 8, but we just listened to it again and did not hear it. Could have been on NPR, Saturday Weekend Edition afterwards. No online synonym search has resulted in anything. Could be a newly coined term.  

We thought it was a very interesting word, and we were both sure that we would forget it. We were right - completely gone.  We both think it starts with an S, but that might of course not be correct at all.  

Can anyone help?

Thanks!

Guest
2
2014/03/16 - 7:52am

There is gastronome, in which the s is featured while not in initial position. A related word not restricted to food alone is sybarite.

Guest
3
2014/03/16 - 8:58am

Glenn said
There is gastronome, in which the s is featured while not in initial position. A related word not restricted to food alone is sybarite.

Thank you for your response. Neither are the one though. It was a strange combination of two common words.  

Guest
4
2014/03/16 - 11:16am

In that particular episode the word "slapsauce" is mentioned.   I can't find it referenced online in any dictionary or even on a website.   However, Martha said it is an ancient word.   She gave a date but I do not recall it.

Guest
5
2014/03/16 - 11:26am

Dick said
In that particular episode the word "slapsauce" is mentioned.   I can't find it referenced online in any dictionary or even on a website.   However, Martha said it is an ancient word.   She gave a date but I do not recall it.

Yes! That's it!  

Cool! Thanks!

polistra
40 Posts
(Offline)
7
2014/03/16 - 5:50pm

I suspect the original meaning of slap-sauce was close to gourmand, and developed the connotation of a sponge or hanger-on.   From an English-Italian dictionary of 1832:

 

http://books.google.com/books?id=7pNwaetPzmsC&pg=PA503&dq=slap-sauce&hl=en&sa=X&ei=C0UmU8nfD4b7oASpt4GgAw&ved=0CE4Q6AEwBQ

 

SLAP-SAUCE, lick-dish, un leccaplatti, un goloso, un leccardo, un ghiottone.

 

Lick-dish or leccaplatti tells the story.   You can see this dude hanging around after dinner to gobble up all the leftovers!

 

 

Guest
8
2014/03/19 - 4:09pm

Hi there!

I'm a few days late, but in case anybody happens to read this thread.....I am actually just doing research on slapsauce for my blog, and can help out a wee bit.

In A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles by James Murray (the original OED), it is shown as an obsolete word meaning "one who is fond of good eating; a greedy or gluttonous person"

It is derived from an obsolete meaning of the verb 'slap,' to lap or gobble up, plus 'sauce.'

Slapsauce is also shown in other old dictionaries as a parasite or hanger-on, with the etymology shown in some as coming from the verb, slop, to spill.

 

Guest
9
2014/03/29 - 1:58pm

I am such a person, and slapsauce doesn't appeal to me. If somebody called me a slapsauce, I'd be tempted to slap her. I think the modern word is "foodie." Foodie casts a wide net, though, embracing food workers and food writers.

EmmettRedd
859 Posts
(Offline)
10
2014/04/09 - 11:43pm

polistra said

I suspect the original meaning of slap-sauce was close to gourmand, and developed the connotation of a sponge or hanger-on.   From an English-Italian dictionary of 1832:

 

http://books.google.com/books?id=7pNwaetPzmsC&pg=PA503&dq=slap-sauce&hl=en&sa=X&ei=C0UmU8nfD4b7oASpt4GgAw&ved=0CE4Q6AEwBQ

 

SLAP-SAUCE, lick-dish, un leccaplatti, un goloso, un leccardo, un ghiottone.

 

Lick-dish or leccaplatti tells the story.   You can see this dude hanging around after dinner to gobble up all the leftovers!

 

 

Over a century ago, there was a Lick Skillet school near or on my mother's childhood farm. I always pictured a hungry individual.

Wikipedia has 4 entries related to Lick Skillet.

Forum Timezone: America/Los_Angeles
Show Stats
Administrators:
Martha Barnette
Grant Barrett
Moderators:
Grant Barrett
Top Posters:
Newest Members:
Mike Brock
Forum Stats:
Groups: 1
Forums: 1
Topics: 3647
Posts: 18912

 

Member Stats:
Guest Posters: 618
Members: 1266
Moderators: 1
Admins: 2
Most Users Ever Online: 1147
Currently Online:
Guest(s) 32
Currently Browsing this Page:
1 Guest(s)