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Chris -- 2018-04-11
Just stumbled across this interesting etymology for the phrase “spare ribs.”
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/rea … e-of-adams
“As for spare ribs-known as “sparribs” in the relatively terse seventeenth and eighteenth centuries—they take their name from the Middle Low German word “rippspeer,” which eventually became “ribbesper.” It was the custom of the Middle Low Germans to sit around their fires roasting pig ribs on a spit or, as they preferred to call it, a “sper” (a word that survives in English as “spar,” as in the rib supports of a ship).
Somewhere in the sixteenth century, the two elements of the German word became transposed as it entered English—”ribbesper” became “sparrib.” As time marched on, the excessively literal English insisted on disconnecting the “spar,” thinking it came from the adjective “spare.””
Last edited by Craig C Clarke (2009-04-13 19:07:53)
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I guess this is something of an addendum to Craig’s post. When I was a kid, I thought they were called “spear ribs†– each rib-bone served as a spear that went right through the meat. Some online sources say that the German term is an analogue of English “spar,†as Craig’s post says, while others plump for “spear.†In any case, if Craig’s etymology is correct, we avoid a violation of the “etymological rule†because “spear†and “spar†have different (but equally murky) origins. This reshaping is not a recent innovation – the OED lists it as an 18th C spelling variant. Examples:
How do you make pork spear ribs?
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_do_you_ma … spear_ribs
It’s a German dish known as Drop Dumplings and it’s served in a broth with sauerkraut and BBQ spear ribs, cream corn, fried squash, cucumbers and onions, and lemon pie for dessert.
http://www.thejourneychurch.org/keith.html
I have a rack of spear ribs going.
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/forum/ … ouble-help
[This is from a post on a Web forum about smoking meats. The post is entitled “Spear Ribs on now and having trouble, help!†Remember – always keep your laptop close to the BBQ, just in case you have immediate need of your online buddies. And if you have an eggcorn emergency, feel free to come here – we having interns watching the site 24/7.]
Last edited by patschwieterman (2010-07-16 00:49:18)
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