"This pudding has no theme"

[David Bowie]

From: Charles Doyle <cdoyle at uga.edu>

> I suppose we must regard "The proof is in the pudding" as a proverb
> in its own right; it finds a slightly whopping 297,000 raw Google
> hits. Google Books shows an 1863 occurrence in a work by Henry
> Dircks, _Joseph Anstey_ (335). (The date is right for that author).

Cool! I discover that I've been the victim of folk etymology! (Or
whatever the proverb equivalent of folk etymology is.)

I always thought "The proof is in the pudding" came from the idea that
it's somewhat difficult to make a really good pudding (not as in flavor,
but as in absolutely no lumps or trace of graininess)--so the proof of
whether someone was actually a good cook would be in whether they were
able to make a good pudding for dessert.

Don't know where I picked that up. I do know that I've heard (though
infrequently) "The proof is in the eating", but I've always thought that
that was a completely different proverb, utterly unrelated. (It seems to
have a different application, too--for me, "The proof is in the pudding"
focuses on production, "The proof is in the eating" focuses on
perception/judgment.)

--
David Bowie                               University of Central Florida
     Jeanne's Two Laws of Chocolate: If there is no chocolate in the
     house, there is too little; some must be purchased. If there is
     chocolate in the house, there is too much; it must be consumed.

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