a bare simmer

[Sally Donlon]

The adjectival use of "bare" meaning "mere" may not be in
the OED, but other such uses spring to mind immediately:
bare minimum, bare necessity, bare facts.

sally donlon



Barbara Need wrote:

> A recipe for a dish I made this evening asked me to "cook [the
> chicken] at a bare simmer". Well, I knew what was meant* but it
> seemed odd to me. On the other hand, Google gives me 1800 hits for
> the phrase!
>
> Is there anyone familiar with this use?
>
> * I suspect it is from something like "barely a simmer" or "barely
> simmering". The adjectival use of _bare_ meaning 'mere' is not in the
> OED.
>
> Barbara Need
> UChicago--Linguistics
>
>