piemen

[Michael McKernan]

Bill.Mullins wrote:

>The OED definition for "pieman" is merely one who sells pies -- not a
>derogatory term in and of itself.  However, piemen apparently ran with a
>bad crowd, and are guilty by association:

Beyond the context where one encountered piemen, and beyond the company
they supposedly kept, remember that by definition, a pieman sold a product
whose contents (and thus, quality) were hidden by the crusty covering.  I
seem to remember that various (English? USA?) officials were moved to
attempt regulation of piemen, or at least, the products they sold.  If so,
that's a sure sign that adulterated or noxious-content pies were a big
problem.

Michael McKernan