CALABASH

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CALABASH

Postby Dr. Goodword » Sat Aug 21, 2010 11:12 pm

• calabash •

Pronunciation: kæ-lê-bæsh • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Noun

Meaning: 1. Any of several vines and at least one tropical tree whose fruit is a smooth, bottle-shaped gourd or anything that resembles such a gourd. 2. A dipper made from a calabash or other gourd. 3. An S-shaped pipe with a large bowl, originally made from such gourds.

Notes: I can recall weekends at my grandparents' house before plumbing. We got our water from a sink and a hand pump on the back porch and drank from a dried gourd with a long handle that some called a calabash. (Most of us called it the dipper.) Today the word is reserved either for the authentic plant itself (Lagenaria siceraria) or the pipe Sherlock Holmes made famous.

In Play: The bend in the calabash pipe allows for the user to hold the pipe in his mouth, leaving his hands free to do other things. This is why Sherlock Holmes is often portrayed in movies smoking a calabash pipe, something he never did in the stories of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The US comedian, Jimmy "The Schnoz" Durante, always ended his shows with, "Goodnight, Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are." Apparently, Calabash in this instance was a reference to his first wife, Jeanne Olsen, who died in 1943 in Calabasas, California. It was either her mispronunciation of the name of the town during her illness or Durante's own.

Word History: Today's Good Word is one of those rare contributions to English from Arabic. English borrowed it directly from French calebasse "gourd". The French borrowed it from Spanish calabaza, itself borrowed from Catalan carabaça. Catalan seems to have picked up the word from an Arabic phrase, brought in by the Moors, qar'a yabisa "dried gourd", containing qar'a "gourd" + yabisa. Yabisa is the feminine of yabis "dried". Others surmise the word came from Persian kharbuz "melon", whence Russian arbuz "watermelon". However, this speculation stands on very shaky legs.
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Slava
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Postby Slava » Tue Aug 31, 2010 5:12 pm

I have a soft spot for this word. As children, my brother and I were promised calabash pipes upon reaching our majority. At the time, we thought was a really cool idea. Neither of us ended up smoking, but the memory lives on. I still wouldn't mind having one, even though I wouldn't use it,
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Postby saparris » Thu Sep 02, 2010 6:33 pm

Another possible source for Jimmy Durante's famous farewell, albeit a fishy one.
All over the Carolinas, the signs on the restaurants proclaim ''Calabash- style seafood.'' After seeing them for years, I finally decided to find out what the signs meant, but that did not prove to be an easy assignment.

The popular advertising slogan derives from Calabash, N.C., a small fishing village just north of the South Carolina line that boasts 180 people, 32 restaurants, 75 fishing boats and a well-earned reputation for wonderful seafood. We arrived there at lunchtime on a summer Saturday and drove around the area for several minutes before deciding on Capt. Nance's, a pleasant-looking spot right on the water.

The town is actually situated on an inlet some distance from the Atlantic, but that sheltered location provides a natural port for a small fleet of shrimp boats, several of which can be seen from the back window of Capt. Nance's. I learned later that these boats belonged to Lennon Nance and his two brothers, Calabash natives whose father and grandfather had gone to sea before them, searching for the small, delicate-flavored shrimp that is the mainstay of the Calabash kitchen.

With four of us at the table - my wife and I and our two children - were able to sample a variety of entrees. My wife had a deviled crab that was crisp and spicy, without too much of the breading that can easily ruin that dish. The fried oysters, a specialty of the Carolina coast, were plump and flavorful, unlike the fried clams, which were a bit rubbery.

But the star of the meal was clearly the shrimp, fresh, bite-sized morsels, fried in a light batter and served in a heaping pink mound, surrounded by tartar and cocktail sauce. I did not think it was possible for a restaurant to serve more shrimp than I could eat in one sitting, but Nance's came close. Moreover, the friendly waitresses, dressed in purple knit shirts, kept refilling our iced tea glasses without being asked. Throw in the view of the shrimp boats and the offshore traffic, and the bill of $32 was a real bargain.

I still was not sure, however, what ''Calabash-style'' seafood really meant. At a gift shop near the main highway I consulted ''The Original Calabash Cookbook'', but that did not help much. I learned that the town took its name from an Indian word, meaning gourd, and that it had once been a busy trading port for inland settlements. The book also reported a favorite legend, that a local cat had once been given by Jerome Bonaparte to his brother, Napoleon. The feline, named Calabash, had become a favorite companion of the emperor, and was, by one account, buried with his master.

Clark Callahan, the manager of the gift shop, had his own view. Calabash-style, he said, mainly means large portions. ''It's abundance,'' he said, ''normally you can't eat it all.''

Based on lunch, I knew that quantity was certainly part of the Calabash style. And on Mr. Callahan's advice, I tracked down some of the village's old-timers, in search of more answers to my question. Jo Anne Coleman, of the Seafood Hut, could not define her own style of cooking: ''All I know,'' she said, ''is that I put it in my deep fryer and cook it. We have nothing fancy here.''

But she had obviously pinpointed another element of Calabash's celebrity - its simple, relaxed atmosphere. Calabash is still a working fishing port, run by the folks who grew up in the area, and as Mrs. Coleman noted, ''My customers tell me that they come here because it's so much like it was years ago.''

Mrs. Coleman also contributed another legend: Her mother-in-law ran one of the first seafood houses in town, during the 1940's, and one of her customers was Jimmy Durante, who called her affectionately, ''Mrs. Calabash''. So when the entertainer ended his broadcasts with the wistful words, ''Good night, Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are,'' he was really talking about Mrs. Coleman's mother-in-law. True or not, it's a good story.
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LukeJavan8
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Postby LukeJavan8 » Fri Sep 03, 2010 12:18 pm

And North is just south of the North Carolina line???
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saparris
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Postby saparris » Fri Sep 03, 2010 1:18 pm

And northwest of Due West, SC. Also 100 miles south of Six Mile, SC.
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LukeJavan8
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Postby LukeJavan8 » Fri Sep 03, 2010 1:35 pm

It's a wonder any of y'all know where y'all are goin' !


How's Earl treating ya???
-----please, draw me a sheep-----

saparris
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Postby saparris » Fri Sep 03, 2010 2:40 pm

It's a wonder any of y'all know where y'all are goin' !
To make matters worse, Southerners give directions in relation to where things used to be. In my home town of Spartanburg, the County Administration Building is where Sears used to be before it moved. Very helpful for newcomers.
How's Earl treating ya???
If you look at the map below, you'll see that Earl disregarded SC completely, as most folks do.

Image
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LukeJavan8
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Postby LukeJavan8 » Fri Sep 03, 2010 4:18 pm

I'd consider that a plus: keeps out the unwanted
and preserves what is valuable. Something this
site could use. Congress as well.
-----please, draw me a sheep-----

thejazzgirl
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I know where you are, My father was from Spartanburg.

Postby thejazzgirl » Sun Sep 12, 2010 10:20 am

I'd consider that a plus: keeps out the unwanted
and preserves what is valuable. Something this
site could use. Congress as well.
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LukeJavan8
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Postby LukeJavan8 » Sun Sep 12, 2010 11:37 am

I don't quite understand your comment,(Spartanburg) but do
appreciate it, and welcome to the forum. Unwanted
comments happen here, as anywhere, and there
are some who feel in charge of the site, just like
congress, I guess. But we overlook their arrogance.
Welcome again.
-----please, draw me a sheep-----


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