Weaponsgate (WMD buzzword); Pig Picking (BBQ term)

Wed Jun 18 01:58:40 UTC 2003

WEAPONSGATE

   Another "-gate."  It's mentioned in this week's VILLAGE VOICE (www.villagevoice.com).  From the Dow Jones news service are these recent hits:

     1
  Weaponsgate?
The Cincinnati Post, 06/16/2003, 427 words.
As justification in the run up to the war in Iraq, President Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and the secretaries of Defense and State repeatedly and unequivocally asserted that Iraq possessed ...

   2
  WEAPONSGATE?
The Commercial Appeal Memphis, TN, 06/15/2003, 395 words.
TO HELP justify the war in Iraq, President Bush, Vice President Cheney and the secretaries of Defense and State repeatedly and unequivocally asserted that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass ...

   3
  Hotline Extra For June 7, 2003
National Journal, 06/07/2003, 1513 words.
Focus on the Rural After watching rural voters flock to Republicans, Democrats are making an effort to reach out to people in small towns. But only ...

   4
  Below the Fold
Fox News: Fox News Sunday, 06/01/2003, 4105 words.
SNOW: Now let's check out some political stories we found this week below the fold. There are some interesting trends from the world of public opinion ...

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PIG PICKING

   Is this not in the latest DARE?  (NYU keeps the latest volume behind the desk.  Columbia does this for the HDAS.)
   It's not in OED.  There are almost 1000 Google "pig-picking" hits.  Most are associated with North Carolina or South Carolina.
   I need the WASHINGTON POST for this.  I checked, and neither the NYPL nor NYU has the WASHINGTON POST, either.  Maybe I'll visit the Library of Congress in a few days.  Make any requests now.

(DOW JONES)
FOOD
Wedding alert
LESLIE WATTS
Staff
06/26/1985
Houston Chronicle
NO STAR
18
(...)
Menus and recipes are furnished for everything from a ``pig picking`'' to a high English tea wedding reception - there are wedding breakfasts, brunches, luncheons, dinners, coffees, teas, receptions and other get-togethers of every size and degree of formality. You will discover that North Carolina barbecue is ``in'' - presumably that applies to Texas barbecue as well.

(PROQUEST HISTORICAL NEWSPAPERS)
  A Virginian's Boston Barbecue; By MARIAN BURROS, CAMBRIDGE, Mass.; New York Times (1857-Current file), New York, N.Y.; Oct 5, 1988; pg. C10, 1 pgs
("Pig picking is an ancient Southern art to remove the meat in shreds, which then find their way into sandwiches made with white bread or white rolls.")

(GOOGLE GROUPS)
From: Kai ping Wang (kw1 at acpub.duke.edu)
Subject: BBQ (pig picking)
Newsgroups: triangle.dining
Date: 1994-07-15 04:21:28 PST

I just came back from Greenville, NC. I love the BBQ I had at a
restaurant named "PARKER". However, my friend told me there is another
way to have BBQ in East Carolina called "PIG PICKING". Which is they put
the whole pig (cleaned inside) on BBQ grill for whole day and pick the
meat from the pig. Has anyone out there ever tried this kind of BBQ. Is
there any restaurant serves the "pig picking" in traingle area?

(GOOGLE GROUPS)
From: DarleneAin (darleneain at aol.com)
Subject: Re: Natl Dishonor Society
Newsgroups: alt.peeves
Date: 1996/05/14

In article <geoffmDrDpqw.KtK at netcom.com>, geoffm at netcom.com (Geoff Miller)
writes:

>
>Okay.  <sigh>  I can't stand it anymore.
>What the hell is a "pig picking?"
>
>

A "pig picking" is a lovely southern tradition.  It is an outdoor
gathering of at least 20 people, who are gathered to partake of pork
roasted in very large pieces over an outdoor fire.  Occasionally, a whole
pig will get done, but more usually in our part of the woods, several
roasts or hams are cooked.  Traditional side dishes are baked beans and
slaw.  Traditional beverages are sweetened iced tea and beer.  The
"picking" part comes from having to "pick" or carve or pull your meat off
the roast/pig.

I would guess that the custom originated before refrigeration was widely
available.  Fresh pork was largely unavailable in the summer in the South,
unless you had a large gathering to help you eat your pig before it
spoiled.

(GOOGLE)("PIG PICKING CAKE")
http://www.hungrybrowser.com/phaedrus/m050903.htm
Hi Nancy,

Well, believe it or not, I've researched this before, and I narrowed it down to two options:

1) Several of the recipes that I have found for this have little notes that say the cake got its name because people make pigs of themselves eating it.

2) The second, and possible more authentic, option is this: That name for this cake is said to have originated in North Carolina. North Carolina is famous for its pork barbecue. In North Carolina a barbecue cookout is often called a "pig picking" because they cook a pig until the meat is so tender that it's falling off the bones, then they take it off the fire, pick the cooked pork off the bones by hand, pour on the barbecue sauce, and chow down. This kind of barbecue is also known as "pulled pork" because the meat is "pulled" off the bones. Now if this particular cake was a favorite dessert at these cookouts, or "pig pickings", then the cake itself might have come to be known as a "pig picking" cake, first in North Carolina and then elsewhere.

Phaed