This week’s theme
Biblical idioms

This week’s words
Adam and Eve
mess of pottage

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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(MES uhv POT-ij)

MEANING:

noun: Something trivial accepted in return for something of great value, especially when done for immediate gratification.

ETYMOLOGY:

From mess (dish), from Latin missum (sent to a table), past participle of mittere (to send) + pottage (a thick soup, literally something in/from a pot). Earliest documented use: 1330.

NOTES:

The biblical story told in Genesis 25:29-34 involves twin brothers Esau and Jacob, though Esau popped out first and thus has the birthright (the rights of the firstborn son). One day Jacob is cooking some stew. Esau returns from the fields hungry and asks Jacob for some stew. Jacob asks for Esau’s birthright in return. What good is the birthright if I die hungry, Esau reasons, and agrees to it. A stew-pid bargain?
Fun fact: The word porridge is an alteration of pottage.

USAGE:

“‘I think he has sold his soul for a mess of pottage.’ -Democratic Congressman John Lewis on reports that Zell Miller, a conservative Democratic senator from Georgia, will speak at the Republican convention.”
United States: On the Trail; The Economist (London, UK); Jul 3, 2004.

See more usage examples of mess of pottage in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: