The Gallivanting Spatula, Cont'd

Off the Gallivanting Spatula, the best thing Alana Newhouse and I have done since we turned Sen. Orrin Hatch into the new Theodore Bikel, Andrew Sullivan wrote: "When I saw the headline, I was a little worried at first it might be about my obsession with Sarah Palin's pregnancy stories. Still, I have to say I occasionally use the word 'gallivanting.' The English love it. But 'appetizing' as a noun? I concede the point."

If you see a post entitled "the Gallivanting Speculum," then you'll know I'm writing about Andrew's obsession with Sarah Palin pregnancy stories. The "Gallivanting Spatula," on the other hand, is about words Jews use. ("Speculum" is not a particularly Jewish word, though some of my favorite gynecologists are Jews.)

Here's the first installment of the Gallivanting Spatula dictionary. The next installment is now posted. Here's one new entry:

Viennese table (noun): A buffet table of desserts (usually parve). Unrecognizable to Austrians, or anyone else who has not visited Leonard's of Great Neck. Here is its use in a sentence: "We were going to do the Viennese table, but our catering manager advised us to skip it and do the chocolate fountain instead." This is not a sentence we made up. Related phrases include "modified Viennese" and "mini-Viennese"--neither of which should be confused with "shmorg (noun)," which itself has absolutely nothing to do with "shmorg" (verb), go wash your mouth out with soap.

This article available online at:

http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2010/11/the-gallivanting-spatula-contd/66650/