AVOCADO

[Dr. Goodword]

• avocado •

Pronunciation: æ-vê-kah-do • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Noun

Meaning: A pear-shaped fruit with dark green, leathery skin, a large stony seed, and greenish-yellow edible pulp used in salads and in guacamole.

Notes: The plural of today's Good Word is avocados—without an E. Otherwise, we have another lexical orphan today with no linguistically consanguineous adjectives or verbs. The noun itself may be used adjectivally to refer to its own color, as in that avocado green stain on my shirt.

In Play: The unusual color, creamy texture, and mild taste of this fruit opens many metaphorical doors for us: "The freshly spiked green hair, multicolored tattoos, and avocado lips of his roommate's sister steered Sal McGundy's mind more toward salad than romance." The strikingly different textures inside and outside the avocado only expand the possibilities: "The chocolate truffle had a rich coffee-like flavor and an avocado texture that melted on the tongue." Looking outwardly, we might think (never say): "After 25 years in the sun, her complexion approached that of an avocado with a color that was only a tad lighter."

Word History: So what do avocados have to do with Spanish lawyers, I know you've wondered. Originally, the South American Nahuatl people called this fruit an ahucatl "testicle", believing it to be an aphrodisiac. (What has your experience been?) The Spaniards of years gone by thought that ahucatl sounded like Spanish avocado "advocate, lawyer" (spelled abogado today), so they changed it to avocado by the process known as folk etymology. The French equivalent, avocat, still means both "avocado" and "lawyer". Now, the Nahuatl word for "soup" or "sauce" is molli, so ahuacamolli is avocado soup or sauce. The Spaniards shortened this word to guacamole, the popular chip dip enjoyed throughout the Americas today. (Thanks to Rob Towart for steering us to today's rich, creamy, and laughably mysterious Good Word. Larry Brady suggested "Sal McGundy".)

[call_copse]

I enjoyed this one, thanks - I often wondered about where this could have come from.

Sal McGundy's roommates sister sounds interesting to me though - anyone got her number?

[Slava]

Sal McGundy's roommates sister sounds interesting to me though - anyone got her number?

Don't forget to eat your avocados before the date. Then let us know if it works.

Which also brings us to a word suggestion. It appears we have not had an aphrodisiac here yet. In fact, judging from our search engine, even the word itself has been used only once here. We must be doing something right if we don't need it, eh?

Keep up the good work everyone.

[Dr. Goodword]

Slava--consider it suggested.

[Slava]

Slava--consider it suggested.

Ow, I'm going to get abused for this, but... "I'm up for that."

[LukeJavan8]

A word with "no linguistically consanguineous adjectives or
verbs". What a beautiful sentence! Virtually flows off the
tongue!

[LukeJavan8]

Slava--consider it suggested.

Ow, I'm going to get abused for this, but... "I'm up for that."

Chuckle: no abuse.