rarebit

[ersatz-read.livejournal.com]

rarebit, noun.  rabbit, as in Welsh rabbit, a dish commonly containing cheddar cheese, beer, and seasonings, served over toast.  Welsh rabbit contains no rabbit.

The first recorded use of the term "Welsh rabbit" was in 1725; the first recorded use of the term "Welsh rarebit" was in 1785, in Francis Grose's book A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue.  The assumption by Grose is that "rarebit" is a corruption of the word "rabbit".

The origin of the initial "rabbit" term is also obscure.  There is a theory that "Welsh rabbit" was a reference to the idea that Welsh people were too poor to afford meat, so they ate cheese instead.

There are many variations:  English rabbit, Irish rabbit, Scotch rabbit, etc.  When topped with a poached egg it's called a "golden buck".

The word "rarebit" seems to exist solely as a variant of "rabbit", for this dish alone.

Comments

[insaneladybug.livejournal.com]

Intriguing. I've wondered about the rabbit/rarebit names concerning this dish.

You don't have any information on whether the stories of it making one sleepwalk/dream bizarre dreams are true, do you? ;)

[ersatz-read.livejournal.com]

Heh. I had to look up the reference. Now I'm having flashbacks to the television that was on after school every day. You know, back when there were only 4 television channels.

[insaneladybug.livejournal.com]

I wasn't sure if you'd get it or not, haha. But I couldn't resist. That's my favorite episode of Gomer Pyle. I'm the one who wrote the huge recap of the episode on TV.com.

I used to watch Gomer reruns in the mornings before kindergarten. I was getting an education of classic TV at a very early age.

[miss-daizy.livejournal.com]

It's also magically delicious!

[prettygoodword.livejournal.com]

I'd wondered which direction those words went. Thanks!

---L.