riz de veau

[James Smith]

--- Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU> wrote:

> 1)  'Riz de veau' really "means" veal's rice (or, if
> you insist, little
> cow's rice):  How did the word for thymus, RIS, get
> confused with the word
> for rice, RIZ?  (Of course the two were homophones,
> as noted.)  Maybe the
> French thought "riz de veau" was a euphemism, which
> brings up...
> 2)  Why do WE call them sweetbreads?  Is THAT a
> euphemism?

A recipe titled "Riz de veau" that I located on the
web called for the use and preparation of "ris de
veau" throughout the text.  Perhaps the name of the
dish is a euphemism, as has been suggested, or perhaps
intended as a pun.

=====
James D. SMITH                 |If history teaches anything
SLC, UT                        |it is that we will be sued
jsmithjamessmith at yahoo.com     |whether we act quickly and decisively
                               |or slowly and cautiously.

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