Beef, ah Beef what an evocative word, especially if you happen to be British because it conjures up all sorts of images, thoughts and in some, fantasies.
Thoughts flash from a sizzling carefully roasted joint of beef with its delicate red centre to Beefeaters in their red skirts guarding the crown jewels, is Britain obsessed with beef? Well it might seem like it, but we have only just started and the images flood in, though happily no fantasies — well none yet anyway.
So before we get carried away shall I answer one question, what is beef? Well to a Brit it is as we said all sorts of things though it is important to know what it is not, it is not Boeuf or as they would say — le boeuf, ‘the beef,’ how odd!
Still we shouldn’t moan about the addition of the ‘the’ to ‘the’ Beef — the word, that is, came into the English language from the French, after 1066 — the year for those who are a little challenged and need this sort of thing explained - the French threw their weight and language around the defeated England and as they did some of their words stuck.
A roasted joint of beef before the invasion of the Normans was called Ox (in fact it still was called that by the Brits), but after they had cooked the Ox and as it went into the dinning room it became le Boeuf. The Brits — of course to Boeuf what they do to all foreign words and mispronounced it and called it beef instead.
All of which is quite cute really and goes to show that the British might have held a grudge for being conquered but they didn’t beef about it for too long, they just stole loads of words from their occupiers and like conquered people everywhere came out of the deal rather better off.
All trace of the Normans is limited to a spall spot in Normandy in France and a tatty tapestry, but the Beefeaters and their cousins went on to eat their way around the world mispronouncing foreign words everywhere.
Thoughts flash from a sizzling carefully roasted joint of beef with its delicate red centre to Beefeaters in their red skirts guarding the crown jewels, is Britain obsessed with beef? Well it might seem like it, but we have only just started and the images flood in, though happily no fantasies — well none yet anyway.
So before we get carried away shall I answer one question, what is beef? Well to a Brit it is as we said all sorts of things though it is important to know what it is not, it is not Boeuf or as they would say — le boeuf, ‘the beef,’ how odd!
Still we shouldn’t moan about the addition of the ‘the’ to ‘the’ Beef — the word, that is, came into the English language from the French, after 1066 — the year for those who are a little challenged and need this sort of thing explained - the French threw their weight and language around the defeated England and as they did some of their words stuck.
A roasted joint of beef before the invasion of the Normans was called Ox (in fact it still was called that by the Brits), but after they had cooked the Ox and as it went into the dinning room it became le Boeuf. The Brits — of course to Boeuf what they do to all foreign words and mispronounced it and called it beef instead.
All of which is quite cute really and goes to show that the British might have held a grudge for being conquered but they didn’t beef about it for too long, they just stole loads of words from their occupiers and like conquered people everywhere came out of the deal rather better off.
All trace of the Normans is limited to a spall spot in Normandy in France and a tatty tapestry, but the Beefeaters and their cousins went on to eat their way around the world mispronouncing foreign words everywhere.
