"chopped liver" revisited

[Gerald Cohen]

    A few weeks ago I mentioned the great injustice in the expression
(with variants) "What am I, chopped liver?" and wondered how this
delicious food (if prepared properly) could acquire such negative
connotations.

    I now see a plausible answer in a 2002 ads-l message and present
it below my signoff.

Gerald Cohen


>Date:         Sat, 17 Aug 2002 13:05:43 -0700
>From: Kim & Rima McKinzey <rkmck at EARTHLINK.NET>
>Subject:      Fwd: mini Yiddish lesson
>To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
>
>Just got this from a friend - and appropriate in that we just had a
>thread re chopped liver.  Rima
>
>><snip>
>>While we're on the subject of Yiddish, another expression whose origin
>>people wonder about is, "What am I, chopped liver?"
>>
>>Consult an excellent website about all things Jewish, Ask the Rabbi
>>(www.ohr.org.il/web/index/askfull.htm).
>>
>>According to this site, the phrase was coined in America. Chopped liver is
>>a side dish and never a main course, so the phrase is used to express hurt
>>and amazement when someone feels overlooked, i.e., treated as a "side
>>dish."