If a meal is served to
me 'piping hot' I know if I gobble it down with utter disregard for its extreme
hotness I should do so with full knowledge that it's going to burn
the taste-buds from my tongue and scald the flesh from the roof of my
mouth.
Piping hot . . . what does
that mean anyway? A reference to plumbing? If you’re in the
vicinity of a burst steam pipe, it will get your attention . . . and, I promise, it will hurt.
Nope, that’s not it.
Does it come from the
Scottish tradition of ceremoniously serving food on special occasions accompanied
by the playing of the bagpipes? Certainly
that food could be considered 'piped in'.
No, not even close.
What ‘piping hot’ refers to
is the sound sizzling hot food makes as steam escapes from it . . . the sound is
reminiscent of whistling teakettles and high-pitched musical pipes.
One of the first literary references
was from the second of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales - The Miller’s Tale (1390)
Absalom in his attempt to woo
Alison . . .
He sang as tremulously as
nightingale;
He sent her sweetened wine
and well-spiced ale
And waffles piping hot out of
the fire . . .
Now a pipe dream . . . that's a whole other thing. It, too, has nothing whatsoever to do with plumbing or musical Scots. It has everything to do with pipes . . . opium pipes.
You puff on one of those suckers you'll have dreams like no other . . . pipe dreams, as it were.
Absolut® Orient Apple Breeze
2 Parts Absolut Orient Apple
2 Parts Cranberry Juice
1/2 Part Fresh Pink Grape
Juice
Combine all ingredients and
pour over rocks in a highball glass.
No comments:
Post a Comment