Ficelle (1960)

Tue Mar 16 01:24:31 UTC 2004

(OED)("ficelle")
  1. In comb., as ficelle colour, the colour of pack-thread; ficelle-lace, string-coloured lace. Also ficelle-coloured adj.

  1882 Queen 22 July 94/1 No dress looked prettier than a thin canvas of dark ficelle colour. 1882 World 21 June 18/1 A white muslin trimmed with wide flouncings of ficelle lace. 1900 Westm. Gaz. 5 Feb. 2/1 Hat of ficelle-coloured straw. 1927 Observer 12 June 11/4 Ficelle coloured lace.

    2. A trick, artifice, (stage) device.

  1890 E. DOWSON Let. 8 June (1967) 152 There is more psychological motive in it and less of ‘ficelle’ which Bouthors objected to so in the ‘Diary’. 1894 W. ARCHER Theatr. ‘World’ 1893 xviii. 112, I..did not quite..believe in it, taking it rather as a mere ficelle. a1916 H. JAMES Art of Novel (1934) 322 Half the dramatist's art, as we well know, is in the use of ficelles. Ibid. 323 The ‘ficelle’ character of the subordinate party is..artfully dissimulated. 1920 G. MURRAY in H. G. Wells Outl. Hist. III. xvii. 107/1 True, raids on women were a real cause of war, but they were also a very favourite ficelle of fiction. 1968 Listener 26 Sept. 412/3 No Pucelle, Candy's a ficelle; and..her fate is to be briefly grabbed by a series of stereo~types.
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FICELLE + BREAD--808 Google hits, 44 Google Groups hits

(GOOGLE GROUPS)(NY TIMES article of last Wednesday)
Re: Taking the Artisan Out of Artisanal
... Kalamata olive bread in Kalamazoo? ... Foccacia, levain, ciabatta, ficelles — 10
years ago, who knew what a ficelle was?" said Sue Brooks, who is the bakery ...
alt.bread.recipes - Mar 10, 2004 by Roy Basan - View Thread (19 articles)

   English cuisine, French cuisine...everything in my spare time between parking tickets.

(GOOGLE GROUPS)("ficelle" + "bread")
Re: The $8 loaf of bread
A small baguette is called a ficelle; a double-thick baguette is called a batard ... As
another aside, the best bread at La Brea Bakery is the country white, which ...
la.eats - Oct 4, 1998 by Quodlibet9 - View Thread (18 articles)

Patonki (Re: Olisiko jollain vinkkejä etelä-Ranskasta?)
... ficelle [fee-SEHL] French for "twine" or "string," referring culinarily to a
long, very thin loaf of French bread, about half the size of a BAGUETTE. ...
sfnet.matkustaminen - May 20, 1998 by Matti Grönroos - View Thread (1 article)

Aches and Pains and the Sandwich that washed it away
... I mulled over the sandwiches and said, yes I'll have a tomato motz
(tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, on a ficelle bread with pesto). ...
rec.food.cooking - Jan 29, 1998 by maryf - View Thread (3 articles)

Our Recent Trip to Paris
... I would have been happy with just the Brouilly and some bread. ... I had the boeuf
a la ficelle (beef on a string), a "grandma dish" if ever there was one. ...
bit.listserv.travel-l - Oct 27, 1997 by David Hall - View Thread (3 articles)

Lemon Bread Recipes (3)
... Makes 1 loaf. Lemon Bread 1 pkg. dry yeast 2 Tab. ... Form the dough into a long,
thin ficelle. Allow to rise 1 1/4 times in volume, ab. 10 min. ...
rec.food.recipes - Jul 5, 1995 by JGruhn at aol.com - View Thread (1 article)

Re: Goat Cheese recipes needed!
... Jill: Very simple: French bread if available (baguette or even ficelle) or the best
substitute and a glass of Beaujolais or (if the bread and cheese deserve it ...
rec.food.cooking - Jun 6, 1995 by Guy Beaulieu - View Thread (8 articles)

Re: Yea! Spring has arrived.
... With croutons made from onion ficelle bread and a viniagrette composed of fruity
extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, dijon mustard, chopped garlic, and a ...
rec.food.cooking - Apr 22, 1995 by ynnuf at yetti.wanganui.gen.nz - View Thread (5 articles)

(FACTIVA)(273 hits for "ficelle")
A KITCHEN ANTHOLOGY part 4
JANE GRIGSON
1,592 words
24 November 1982
The Globe and Mail
SB2
(...)
Nowadays, the French make bread from wholemeal. You find wholemeal bread with walnuts, rye bread, bran bread, five-cereal bread, etc. If you are looking for an appropriate kind to serve with a French meal, you will do better to make or buy this kind of loaf, rather than hope to achieve those inimitable sticks of white bread, the ficelle, the baguette and the pain de livre.

(PROQUEST HISTORICAL NEWSPAPERS)
   French Bread Secret
By Art Buchwald. The Washington Post, Times Herald (1959-1973). Washington, D.C.: Mar 31, 1960. p. C8 (1 page):
   There are many types of French bread.  The very, very thin long loaf is called "la ficelle," which means the thread.  THe _ficelle_ is mostly crust with very little dough inside.  It naturally breaks very easily.  Because of its thinness the ends are very pointed, and it must be handled more like a rapier than a saber.
   The _ficelle_ is excellent sticking out of the car window when you want to make a right turn, and for pointing out places of interest to foreigners.
   The next size is "la baguette" (the stick) which is the most popular size.  The _baguette_ is carried like a rifle, the butt of the bread in the palm of your hand and the other end accross the shoulder.  When meeting your boss or your wife on the street, you present arms, holding the loaf vertically in front of you, six inches from the top and bottom.  In cases where people have suffered ski accidents it can also be used as a cane.
   It is bad form to twirl the _baguette_ or swing it like a baseball bat in the street.
   SHORTER than the _baguette_ and thicker is "le batard" (which means what you think it does).  The _batard_ is a cross between the _baguette_ and the "pain fantaisie" (fancy bread, which isn't very fancy).  The _batard_ is excellent for political demonstrations and carrying late at night in case of attack.
   The "gros pain" or big bread, is as long as the _baguette_ and as thick as the _batard_.  It is chiefly bought by large families, but, because it is so unwieldy, the mother sends all the children to buy it.  They usually carry it home like a ladder.

   The Enthusiasm of Snail Addict Helps Turn a Meal Into a Feast
By CRAIG CLAIBORNE Special to The New York Times. New York Times (1857-Current file). New York, N.Y.: May 23, 1968. p. 42 (1 page):
   From the oven, she retrieved a hot, homemade ficelle--a small, narrow loaf of bread--and spooned warm hollandaise that she'd fluff up a moment before over the snail dish.

   Cuisine de Femme: Tending the Fires; Cuisine de Femme: Tending the Fires of Tradition
By MIMI SHERATON. New York Times (1857-Current file). New York, N.Y.: Nov 23, 1977. p. 40 (2 pages)

   A Soupcon Of Spring: Fresh Goat Cheeses
Florence Fabricant. New York Times (1857-Current file). New York, N.Y.: Mar 10, 1982. p. C8 (1 page)

   Vive la Baguette: As French as Paris; Vive la Baguette
By PATRICIA WELLS. New York Times (1857-Current file). New York, N.Y.: Oct 9, 1983. p. XX6 (2 pages)

(No New York Public Library time right now to do better--ed.)