The name avocado is an approximation of ahuacatl, an Aztec word. No one is certain how the name “alligator pear” came around. Some avocados are pear-shaped, although others are round or long oval. Some varieties grow best in tropical areas, where alligators can be expected to lurk.
The World Encyclopedia of Food by L. Patrick Coyle, 1982.
Agar-agar is more effective than most other gelatins in stabilizing ice cream because it can absorb up to 200 times its volume of water.
The World Encyclopedia of Food by L. Patrick Coyle, 1982.
This is a sweet-sour syrup popular as a relish in France and Italy. It is a half-and-half mixture of honey and vinegar.
The World Encyclopedia of Food by L. Patrick Coyle, 1982.
Region of the dead.
International Book of Names by C.O. Sylvester Mawson, 1933.
Mother of Pentheus, whom she tore to pieces for opposing the introduction of the cult of Dionysus (Bacchus) into Thebes.
International Book of Names by C.O. Sylvester Mawson, 1933.
Legendary race of headless people; also, a term applied to various leaderless sects.
International Book of Names by C.O. Sylvester Mawson, 1933.
lit. “destruction”; the abyss of hell. In Revelations, the destroyer. Apollyon.
International Book of Names by C.O. Sylvester Mawson, 1933.
The name “Avalon” was thought by Geoffrey of Monmouth to come from aval, apple, and he describes this Island of Apples as a paradise where the fields never be tilled and where grapes and apples abound. The Welsh texts also refer to the island as ynys avallach, Isle of Apples.
An Arthurian Dictionary by Charles and Ruth Moorman, 1978.
An anonymous twelfth-century Welsh poetic fragment contained in the Black Book of Carmarthen. It contains possibly the oldest reference to Merlin, here Myrddin, a madman living in the Caledonian Forest.
An Arthurian Dictionary by Charles and Ruth Moorman, 1978.
Old One. A vulgar name for the Devil in Scotland and the North of England. The epithet “old,” prefixed to so many of the titles of the Devil, seems to indicate the common opinion that he can only appear in the shape of an old man.
A Dictionary of the Noted Names in Fiction by William A. Wheeler, 1865.
A popular designation of the city of Cork, the birthplace or residence of very many of the most cultivated and eminent Irishmen of the present day.
A Dictionary of the Noted Names in Fiction by William A. Wheeler, 1865.
A name sometimes given to Boston, Massachusetts.
A Dictionary of the Noted Names in Fiction by William A. Wheeler, 1865.
A title bestowed upon Plato, who was a native of Athens, in allusion to the sweetness and beauty of his style.
A Dictionary of the Noted Names in Fiction by William A. Wheeler, 1865.
In the Jewish demonology, an evil spirit, the demon of vanity, or dress, called in the Talmund “king of the devils.” In modern times, he has been jocularly spoken of as the destroying demon of matrimonial happiness.
A Dictionary of the Noted Names in Fiction by William A. Wheeler, 1865.
The sword of Lancelot of the Lake.
A Dictionary of the Noted Names in Fiction by William A. Wheeler, 1865.
