"barbecue pit"

[Mark Mandel]

Did my posting of yesterday get lost? See below the quotes.

m a m


On Mon, Aug 11, 2008 at 8:17 PM, Benjamin Barrett <gogaku at ix.netcom.com> wrote:
> I agree. Looking at Google images for both "barbecue pit" and
> "barbeque pit" brings up top items such as grills that are not holes
> in the ground, though. BB
>
> On Aug 11, 2008, at 5:13 PM, Bill Le May wrote:
>
>> Nothing I associate with 'barbecue pit' in its various
>> interpretations seems like it could be easily picked up and wielded like a weapon. I
>> wonder if the speaker meant 'barbecue spit', which could be a formidable club or
>> spear.
>>
>> Bill Le May

(slightly abridged):

To me, a pit is a basically a hole in the ground, possibly
lined with bricks and fitted with assorted useful accessories for
cooking, but still a hole.

But this term seems to have been lexicalized, e.g.,

http://www.msstate.edu/dept/poultry/bbqgrill.pdf [from the Cooperative
Extension Service of Mississippi State University]:
MULTIPLE-SECTION PORTABLE BARBECUE PIT
Barbecuing chickens for large groups is fairly easy when a
multiple-section portable barbecue pit is used. It is prefabricated in
sections, permitting fast and easy assembly and disassembly. The unit
is easily transported and stored. Any number of eight-foot long
sections can be interconnected, depending on the number of chickens to
be barbecued.

--
Mark Mandel

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