on offer

[James A. Landau]

On Wed 11/29/06 12:11 AM  Michael Adams <madams1448 at AOL.COM> used a phrase I've never noticed before: "on offer"

<quote>
 I haven't a clue about the etymology of "gizmo," but I wonder if anyone
else (Barry, particularly) has ever encountered it as a food term? In
eastern Pensylvania, perhaps in Philadelphia and associated New Jersey,
too, a "gizmo" was a sandwich shop item, half hamburger and half ham
sandwich -- or maybe I should say whole hamburger and whole ham
sandwich, but what I really mean is equal parts hamburger and ham
sandwich. I decided after I ate my first and only one, that it was meant
for those who couldn't get enough meat or salt from any other sandwich
on offer.
</quote>

OT comment to Jonathan Lighter:  The correct pronunciation is /seint looey/.  /seint loois/ or /seint loo at s/ is an illiteraticism created by monolingual Yankees who were too ignorant to bother to larn French.  At least this illiterati haven't yet changed the pronunciation of the name of my home town to /lewisville/.

   - Jim Landau



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