forgotten english word of the day
Writing by Jana on Tuesday, 17 of June , 2008 at 1:42 pm
“bog-oranges”
“Potatoes. A phrase perhaps derived from the term ‘Irish Fruit,’ which by some peculiarity has been applied to potatoes, for even the most ignorant Cockney could hardly believe that potatoes grow in a bog. As, however, the majority of the lower classesof London do believe that potatoes were indigenous to, and were first brought from the soil of Ireland… they may even believe that potatoes are bog-oranges.”
– from John Camden Hotten, Slang Dictionary, 1887.
Category: Forgotten English Word of the Day
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