"barbecue pit"

[Joel S. Berson]

At 8/15/2008 12:44 PM, Charles Doyle wrote:
>If y'all can stomach one more note on the subject:  My Northern
>inlaws commonly say something like, "I'll just throw some burgers on
>the barbecue"--using "barbecue" to designate the portable grilling
>device. Perhaps "barbecue" in that sense represents a clipping of
>(northern) "barbecue pit"--the kind that may be wielded as a weapon?

As a Northerner, I would take it as a clipping of "barbecue grill".

>Or just a metonomy in its own right.
>
>BTW: I believe that in the South, "hamburger" is seldom clipped to
>"burger" (though national restaurant chains are probably altering
>that situation). Also, in the Southern dialects that I'm fluent in,
>the seared fleshly disk inserted into a bun (with mayonaise,
>lettuce, etc.) to constitute a hamburger would never itself be
>called a "hamburger" (much less a "burger").  Sort of like "hotdog"
>being the entire sandwich, not just the wiener.

As for the seared fleshy disc and what it would be called, I cannot resist:

Q:  What's Irish and stays out all night?  (Hint: in the back yard,
near the barby.)

Joel

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