|
|
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,788
Carpal Tunnel
|
OP
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,788 |
Barbara Fairchild, the editor-in-chief of Bon Appetit magazine, was a judge on the American edition of Iron Chef tonight and used a funny word -- foodgasm -- to describe her reaction to a dish prepared by Mario Batali.
A quick Google returned 401 hits for this "word."
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 114
member
|
|
member
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 114 |
foodgasm .... her reaction to a dish prepared by Mario Batali
One wonders whether a foodgasm describes a sudden compulsion to binge out on fine food, or a state of heightened awareness of the sensory pleasures associated with food and its preparation, focused more on the sight, smell, taste, art and poetry of the undertaking, than on the act of consumption itself.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 16
stranger
|
|
stranger
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 16 |
I'm afraid this coinage just doesn't work. I think it is an unforunate and inelegant neologism that's meaningless.
I am unaware of, nor can I imagine, any eating experience that remotely approaches the rapt transport of the sexual climacteric between loving partners. It may be that I am the neglected victim of an inconsiderate and impatient chef who falls asleep right after dinner and I might benefit from consulting a professional food therapist, but it's just not there for me. "Foodgasm" suggests an image of sudden projectile vomiting coming on the heels of violent gastrointestinal paroxysms. I'm sorry, but that just won't make it to round two.
Plus, the operative suffix here would be "-asm," not "-gasm."
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,788
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
OP
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,788 |
Welcome to the Board, Dave. I hope you find it enjoyable and edifying.
As to your inability to achieve foodgasm, rather than assume that you suffer from food-frigidity, I'll just mark that up to you never having tasted my cooking.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803 |
the operative suffix here would be "-asm," not "-gasm."
Therefore the word should be taken as a portmanteau word rather than whatever we would call it if it were merely made up of existing lexemes. With out the g it wouldn't have the nuance of meaning. And while it may not be in the same league as a sexual orgasm, it is at least playing the same game. I haven't eaten any of Father Steve's cooking but I have had food that was so exquisite that I was unable to do anything meaningful but experience the food. Foodgasm may be a little too clunky to describe this feeling but, until something better comes along, it works for me.
I'll have whatever she's having.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,773
Pooh-Bah
|
|
Pooh-Bah
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,773 |
"Foodgasm" is not meaningless to me. Like other successful coinages, it conveys its meaning without further explanation, it evokes a recognition of what it represents (not for you, it seems, bushmillsneat, but for most of us, I'd wager), and there is no readily used equivalent. I have experienced food so good that it has far surpassed other physical experiences. As always, your milage may vary.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 2,154
Pooh-Bah
|
|
Pooh-Bah
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 2,154 |
I understand the concept but I agree that it is inelegant. (But then so is the original action from which the term is coined) I prefer bliss as a more accurate descriptor of my reaction to incredible food since it tends to include a sudden cessation of movement to focus on sensation and -gasm implies something quite different.
edit
PS Father Steve - what time is dinner?
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613 |
"Foodgasm" suggests an image of sudden projectile vomiting coming on the heels of violent gastrointestinal paroxysms. That is the picture it brought to my mind.
Welcome, Dave. What is Bushmills, please? Some kind of alcohol, right? Um...whiskey?
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803 |
I prefer bliss as a more accurate descriptor of my reaction to incredible food
Except that bliss all by its lonesome doesn't say that there is food involved. If you're sitting at table and have just bitten down on a slice of excellent haggis and say, "This is pure bliss," then it's pretty obvious what you mean, but if you're describing it the next day to a companion then foodgasm has it all wrapped up in one word.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210 |
> foodgasm has it all wrapped up in one word.
works for me.
formerly known as etaoin...
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 16
stranger
|
|
stranger
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 16 |
Yes, Jackie, you are correct. I appropriated the name from the very fine Irish whiskey made by the world's oldest distillery whose original grant to distill was issued in 1608. It's located in County Antrim not far from the Giant's Causeway. I savor sipping it during the course of an evening of music and conversation.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,788
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
OP
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,788 |
Zed asks: "what time is dinner?"
And the Old Padre responds: Sorry, you just missed it. Nothing foodgasmic, but an adequate Korean meal of
Pulkogi (grilled beef ribs in a wonderful sauce)
Bap (rice)
Musangchae (a radish salad)
Bibim Naengmyon (cold buckwheat noodles)
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 16
stranger
|
|
stranger
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 16 |
Well, I've learned more about ecstatic reactions in my first posting than I ever expected I'd obtain in a year. I have been eating almost all my life and while I've had some outstanding meals, some exquisite meals, some downright unsurpassable meals, but I've never experienced anything near what I'm hearing described. I can't remember meeting anyone who has had those experiences. I'm afraid I've led a very sheltered life. I always am grateful for the opportunity to learn something new. However, Faldage, I do find your description of "excellent haggis" egregiously oxymoronic. I'm sure it had to be something else that precipitated your transcendent moment.
I do want to thank all of you who graciously welcomed me to your table. I'm looking forward to some more fine dining.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 500
addict
|
|
addict
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 500 |
the world's oldest distillery whose original grant to distill was issued in 1608.
Although in fact at that point the distillery had been running for about 400 years. My Dad was born in Bushmills, and that's the whiskey I grew up on. And, by the way, it makes a great hot toddy if you happen to have a cold (and even if you don't). The family recipe: two fingers of Bush in a mug, squirt of lemon, spoonful of sugar (honey for preference, mind you), fill with hot water and drink it up in bed. This was the cold remedy from when I was about six.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 2,379
Pooh-Bah
|
|
Pooh-Bah
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 2,379 |
Oh, well. To me it is an ugly word without even the intended pinch of forbiddenness.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613 |
I'm afraid I've led a very sheltered life.  My Dad was born in Bushmills, and that's the whiskey I grew up on. [Snort!] I savor sipping it during the course of an evening of music and conversation. two fingers of Bush in a mug, squirt of lemon, spoonful of sugar (honey for preference, mind you), EWWWW-wwww--you people are sick! Sick, I say! Whiskey is nasty! And bourbon's even nastier!! [shudder e] (Yes, I am a Kentuckian.) I too was made to drink honey-whiskey-lemon as a cough remedy when I was a child, but only a few times; then I rebelled. Give me a nice, sweet drink that tastes like a jazzed-up milkshake any day; or a Hurricane--I had one in Florida that reminded me how good they are.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400 |
well, i for one, liked whiskey from the start (the same cold remedy was not unknown in our household, but children got half or 1/4 doses!)
another remedy --a mixture of hot milk and warm stout --as a cure for insomnia is incredible.. i cured me from complaining "i can't sleep' for a lifetime!(i just needed a small sip, not the 4 oz or so profered!)i still dislike both beer and stout.
and Blackberry brandy i still consider medicinal.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210 |
> Oh, well. To me it is an ugly word without even the intended pinch of forbiddenness.
yes, but I thought it easy to understand what was meant.
formerly known as etaoin...
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 2,379
Pooh-Bah
|
|
Pooh-Bah
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 2,379 |
>>easy to understand what was meant
For sure. But it can be more fun if you have to think a moment.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210 |
> think a moment
tantricalizing...
formerly known as etaoin...
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803 |
more fun if you have to think a moment
Fun is not the point of effective communcation.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 4,757
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 4,757 |
> Fun is not the point of effective communcation.
sheesh, Fong, you sound like an ole skool ma'm! and as a matter of record I completely disagree with your assumption - play is at the heart of most human communication, imho, and humour is one of the most potent weapons of the language kit. Ask any advertiser.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,788
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
OP
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,788 |
If "fun is not the point of effective communication" then how come 17% of all the posts on this Board are posted under "wordplay and fun"?
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 2,379
Pooh-Bah
|
|
Pooh-Bah
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 2,379 |
>>effective
Wow!
Even if fun isn't itself the desired effect, surely it is often serves potently to produce some other one.
As to the word in question, if fun wasn't at least part of the author's point, well, then I just don't know what the point was at all.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 2,379
Pooh-Bah
|
|
Pooh-Bah
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 2,379 |
>>tantricalizing
I think of customers locked in a meringue ecstatic, oblivious to the gathering storms around them: waitstaff lousy to get home already
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 500
addict
|
|
addict
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 500 |
Fun is not the point of effective communcation.
Surely it sometimes is! And effective communication can be the point of fun.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613 |
"Foodgasm" suggests an image of sudden projectile vomiting coming on the heels of violent gastrointestinal paroxysms. That is the picture it brought to my mind. I finally figured out why this is: my mind dismisses the g, and jumps to spasm, thus: food spasm. 
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803 |
A) I did not mean to suggest that fun could not be a part of language use. I was reacting to the suggestion that its interference with effective communication could be a desirable trait in and of itself. As to the popularity of Wordplay and Fun as a forum, I think you'll find the meaning/post ratio is the lowest on the board. The links of acronym expansion, e.g. "Toil," are certainly fun, but not much else. Likewise, the games of Hogwash®.
2) Regarding 'food spasm': That's exactly why the g is necessary. If you slip past the g and misread the meaning don't be complaining about its inclusion.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 2,379
Pooh-Bah
|
|
Pooh-Bah
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 2,379 |
>>the suggestion that its interference with effective communication was desireable<<
A) I never suggested that, and any such inference was completely outside my intended meaning.
B) Again, depending what and how one is trying to communicate, a little wit can say more in less space and provoke more related and interesting thoughts, than dry statement or words of new and obvious coinage. Although, the latter do seem, at least, to have the advantage of being memorable -- and, granted, sometimes funny in a camp or bawdy way.
C) Fun is not the opposite of serious.
|
|
|
|
Forums16
Topics13,913
Posts229,351
Members9,182
| |
Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
|
|
|
0 members (),
775
guests, and
0
robots. |
|
Key:
Admin,
Global Mod,
Mod
|
|
|
|
