I've always been amused that a tamal is made with nix-tamal-ized ingredients (feels like they should cancel each other out!), and learning that they share an etymology is very cool.
Way to go out in the weeds, Nancy! If I had seen a bag of nixtamalized cornmeal, I would have avoided it on principal because it says "nix." Also it sounds like Nixon, who tried for years to kill me. I realized (based on your description) that the excellent soup or stew called "posole" contains kernels of nixtamal that have not been ground into masa. Who knew?
Yes, a great place for bargains and the check-out clerks are wonderful.
>Those Aztecs sure loved their portmanteau words.
Well, it is an agglutinative language, after all :)
I've always been amused that a tamal is made with nix-tamal-ized ingredients (feels like they should cancel each other out!), and learning that they share an etymology is very cool.
NIX! https://www.walgreens.com/store/c/nix-permethrin-lice-killing-creme-rinse-kit/ID=prod352239-product
Great post, Nancy.
The Frankenstein metaphor feels natural to me. In a recent post discussing some of Oakland's lesser streams (https://oaklandgeology.com/2024/10/14/kingsland-valley-and-the-shifting-streams/), I described how Seminary Creek appears to have been assembled from disparate parts and dubbed it a "Frankencreek."
(I keep wanting to call that conclusory paragraph a nut graf, but that's the apex of the lede. What's the opposite of a nut graf?)
A “kicker,” I believe. It’s a newish meaning; a kicker used to be a subhed. https://www.merriam-webster.com/wordplay/kicker-definition-meaning
Way to go out in the weeds, Nancy! If I had seen a bag of nixtamalized cornmeal, I would have avoided it on principal because it says "nix." Also it sounds like Nixon, who tried for years to kill me. I realized (based on your description) that the excellent soup or stew called "posole" contains kernels of nixtamal that have not been ground into masa. Who knew?
Or maybe into the corn maze!
Great etymological explanations, Nancy. I once missed ‘la farine’ (flour) on a French test and never forgot it after that.
Grocery Outlet has long been a fav of mine for their quirky bargain offerings.
You had me at “Frankenword.”
This appears to be the Freeman article:
https://archive.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2010/04/25/frankenwords/
see also Globe article by Barbara Wallraff that mentions Freeman:
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/11/15/opinion/may-i-have-word-not-euphemistically-speaking/?event=event25 via @BostonGlobe (Link offered for tweeting, so maybe it's not paywalled)
Thanks, Dan!