Romaine Wasn't Built in a Day: The Delightful History of Food Language
- Downloads：7199
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2023-03-10 01:19:43
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Judith Tschann
- ISBN：B0B8B5ZXK1
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
- Download
Summary
Discover how the food we love shapes the language we use in this sharp， laugh-out-loud story of the etymology of food words。
All food has a story， reaching as far back into history as language itself。 Throughout time， as languages followed and reflected the tides of civilizations， food language came to represent some of the highs and lows of how humans communicate: from the highbrow "Chateauneuf du Pape，" which must be pronounced with a healthy dose of snootiness; to the giggle-inducing yet delicious "nun's farts" of Jamaica （also known as "beignets"）; to the fascinating travels of the word "coffee" across centuries and continents， attesting to the undying and unifying allure this drink holds for us。 From Spam to amuse-bouches， ciabatta to kombucha， Romaine Wasn’t Built in a Day reveals the delightful history and stories behind the words we use for the foods we love。
In Romaine Wasn’t Built in a Day， linguist Tschann takes us on a journey from the vineyards of Avignon to the shores of Tahiti to the port of Mocha on the Red Sea coast to explore the history of the history of the words we use for the food we eat。 Chock full of linguistic did-you-knows and delectable trivia， this is your go-to gift for history buffs， crossword fiends， and Scrabble diehards。 This is the surprising and sometimes hilarious history of food， told through the lens of the fascinating evolution of language。
All food has a story， reaching as far back into history as language itself。 Throughout time， as languages followed and reflected the tides of civilizations， food language came to represent some of the highs and lows of how humans communicate: from the highbrow "Chateauneuf du Pape，" which must be pronounced with a healthy dose of snootiness; to the giggle-inducing yet delicious "nun's farts" of Jamaica （also known as "beignets"）; to the fascinating travels of the word "coffee" across centuries and continents， attesting to the undying and unifying allure this drink holds for us。 From Spam to amuse-bouches， ciabatta to kombucha， Romaine Wasn’t Built in a Day reveals the delightful history and stories behind the words we use for the foods we love。
In Romaine Wasn’t Built in a Day， linguist Tschann takes us on a journey from the vineyards of Avignon to the shores of Tahiti to the port of Mocha on the Red Sea coast to explore the history of the history of the words we use for the food we eat。 Chock full of linguistic did-you-knows and delectable trivia， this is your go-to gift for history buffs， crossword fiends， and Scrabble diehards。 This is the surprising and sometimes hilarious history of food， told through the lens of the fascinating evolution of language。
Reviews
Emily
，
From breakfast to nightcap， have you ever stopped to think of the history of food language？ Maybe wondered where the word for your favourite food is from and how it came to be in English language？ If so， than this is the book for you！Judith Tschann has a great writing style and has used it to put a lot of interesting information in a relatively small package。 Tschann shows how the history of food words not only sheds light on the history of these foods themselves， but to the connections of many From breakfast to nightcap， have you ever stopped to think of the history of food language？ Maybe wondered where the word for your favourite food is from and how it came to be in English language？ If so， than this is the book for you！Judith Tschann has a great writing style and has used it to put a lot of interesting information in a relatively small package。 Tschann shows how the history of food words not only sheds light on the history of these foods themselves， but to the connections of many other topics， such as science， politics and religion。 Although， this can at times lead the author to go on seemingly unnecessary tangents and leave other areas needing more detail， I found it to be a very enjoyable and educational read。Thank you NetGalley， Voracious， and Little， Brown and Company for access to an advance copy to review。 。。。more
Jenn Adams
，
3。5This was a very quick listen - and did contain some interesting information。 That said， I think I would have enjoyed it more as a physical book that I could have dipped in and out of。 It's more of a series of lists/interconnected factoids than any type of linear nonfiction book。 I'd recommend it if you're interested in learning some fun facts about food words， but don't expect there to be any overarching "point" 3。5This was a very quick listen - and did contain some interesting information。 That said， I think I would have enjoyed it more as a physical book that I could have dipped in and out of。 It's more of a series of lists/interconnected factoids than any type of linear nonfiction book。 I'd recommend it if you're interested in learning some fun facts about food words， but don't expect there to be any overarching "point" 。。。more
Lauren
，
This was a very interesting and fun book about the history of food etymology。 I learned a lot in this book， but I wish it was a little more meandering instead of referential。 That's not to say that this book isn't good - it absolutely is - but the format left a little to be desired。 This would make a fantastic gift for any food lovers in your life， chefs， or other history/linguistic buffs out there。 4。5 stars This was a very interesting and fun book about the history of food etymology。 I learned a lot in this book， but I wish it was a little more meandering instead of referential。 That's not to say that this book isn't good - it absolutely is - but the format left a little to be desired。 This would make a fantastic gift for any food lovers in your life， chefs， or other history/linguistic buffs out there。 4。5 stars 。。。more
Leigh Ann
，
A wonderful surprise: Tschann mentions not just signing but also ProTactile in the first paragraph of the Intro。 Great inclusion！ Most scholars still leave it at speech。 While it does seem odd to come across it in a book about English etymology （in that signed languages and ProTactile are generally unrelated to spoken languages）， it’s nice to be thought of nonetheless。 Bonus: An American Sign Language - English pun， for your pleasure: if you sign MILK while moving your hand from one side of your A wonderful surprise: Tschann mentions not just signing but also ProTactile in the first paragraph of the Intro。 Great inclusion！ Most scholars still leave it at speech。 While it does seem odd to come across it in a book about English etymology （in that signed languages and ProTactile are generally unrelated to spoken languages）， it’s nice to be thought of nonetheless。 Bonus: An American Sign Language - English pun， for your pleasure: if you sign MILK while moving your hand from one side of your face to the other， you sign PAST-YOUR-EYES MILK （pasteurized milk）。 。。。more
Caylie Ratzlaff
，
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this novel。 4/5 stars。 As someone who suffered gleefully through a history of the English language class in college （and then wished that there had been more linguistic classes and even considered doing an advanced degree in linguistics） this book was an absolute delight。 Not only did I learn WAY more than I ever need to know about food and words and even words not relating to food， but it's also humorous and relatively easy to digest （food p Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this novel。 4/5 stars。 As someone who suffered gleefully through a history of the English language class in college （and then wished that there had been more linguistic classes and even considered doing an advanced degree in linguistics） this book was an absolute delight。 Not only did I learn WAY more than I ever need to know about food and words and even words not relating to food， but it's also humorous and relatively easy to digest （food pun unintended） for those who may not have a linguistic background。 I also like how it was short， brief explanations of the etymology and I also liked all the history （and honestly， the adultness） that was tied in。 Will I retain most of this information？ No， but some of it will stick when I inevitably have more weird facts to add to my one I already had about linguini meaning little tongues （not only was this from my professor BUT this book also has a section on what pasta names mean。。。without linguini though）。 I did deduct a star though because quite a bit of it felt like an etymological ramble and sometimes the train of thought would start somewhere and end up at a completely different thing and it was hard to follow the progression （tbh， some of them needed flow charts） but this was a delight。 I would definitely recommend reading in small， bite size chunks though。 （that pun was intended）。 。。。more
Jessica - How Jessica Reads
，
A funny， irreverent dive into the history of many common food and drink names。 Plus bonus tips: like did you know that “Chicago” is derived from the Miami-Illinois word for “Wild leeks”？ Word nerds and cooks alike will enjoy this！
Christine Piepmeier
，
An interesting dive into the origins of food words！ The author goes through meal by meal （with some interludes） and shows the origin of words like bread， coffee， and more。 I really enjoyed this book - it was easy to read， and I learned a lot！I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review。
tpg0
，
As an AI language model， I do not have any preferences， but I can provide a summary of the book you mentioned。 'Romaine Wasn't Built in a Day' by Joe Berkowitz is a light-hearted and informative read that delves into the history and origins of various food-related words and phrases。 From the origin of the word 'spaghetti' to the history of 'takeout'， the author explores the stories behind these commonly used food terms。 The book also provides interesting insights into how language evolves and how different cultures have influenced the English language。 Whether you are a food lover or a language enthusiast， 'Romaine Wasn't Built in a Day' will entertain and educate you about the fascinating history of food language。
tpg1
，
As an AI language model， I cannot provide a personal opinion。 However， I can tell you that the book "Romaine Wasn't Built in a Day: The Delightful History of Food Language" by Richard Lederer and Caroline McCullagh explores the origins and evolution of food-related words and expressions in the English language。 The book takes readers on a culinary journey through time， from the first written recipes in ancient Egypt to modern-day food trends。 It is a fun and informative read for anyone interested in language， history， and food。
tpg2
，