Steak Fingers (West Texas drive-in food, 1950s) (UNCLASSIFIED)

[Laurence Horn]

At 9:50 AM -0500 10/11/07, Mullins, Bill AMRDEC wrote:
>Classification:  UNCLASSIFIED
>Caveats: NONE
>
>
>
>>  STEAK FINGERS
>>  ...
>>  "Steak fingers" should be in OED and possibly DARE.
>
>Isn't the relevant sense of "finger" already covered in the OED?:
>
>    9. a. A short and narrow piece of any
>material.    b. Short for finger-biscuit (see
>14b).
>
>1846 FRANCATELLI Mod. Cook 397 Fingers, or
>Naples biscuits. 1865 Athenæum No. 1989. 803/2
>Elderberry wine and fingers of toast.
>
>The fact that it is colocated with steak,
>chicken, or any of several other items (Googling
>shows catfish, turkey, pork, beef, potato, sweet
>potato, shrimp, calamari, eggplant, cornbread,
>french toast, doughnut, etc.) doesn't
>necessarily mean it should get a new entry, does
>it?

Maybe we need to develop a new lexical item, Texas tempura.

LH

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