The Finger

[Laurence Horn]

At 9:01 AM -0500 1/16/02, Joe Fodor wrote:
>Another food-related ethnic tag might be "Yankee"
>
>According to some source I have since lost, the term came from the English
>settlers of New York, who called the cheese-loving Dutchmen who populated
>the area "Jan-Cheeses."  Does this explanation ring a bell for anyone? --Joe
>F.

Well, yes, as an almost certain folk etymology, although the "Jan"
part may be right (especially based on its hypocoristic variant
"Janke").  Still, it's something of a relief to turn from ritual
torture and cannibalism to pastrami and cheese.

Larry