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Author Topic: Where you live, is "appetizing" a noun?  (Read 11915 times)

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Offline Tante Shvester

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Where you live, is "appetizing" a noun?
« on: November 29, 2006, 06:21:53 AM »
I was talking to a friend from the other side of the country who had no idea that "appetizing" is a noun, the way that we use it in the New York area.

Here, it means that kind of deli food that is not cold cuts -- like salads, bagels and cream cheese, lox and smoked fish.

It is used thusly:  "I'm going to pick up some appetizing for the brunch -- do you think I ought to get whitefish salad, herring, or both?"

My friend assures me that such a locution is entirely foreign to her.
« Last Edit: August 07, 2007, 06:11:54 AM by Tante Shvester »
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Offline pooka

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Where you live, is "appetizing" a noun?
« Reply #1 on: November 29, 2006, 06:25:31 AM »
Yeah, that's weird.  
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Offline Porter

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Where you live, is "appetizing" a noun?
« Reply #2 on: November 29, 2006, 07:58:29 AM »
I've never heard of that either.
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Offline Noemon

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Where you live, is "appetizing" a noun?
« Reply #3 on: November 29, 2006, 08:30:43 AM »
Yeah, that strikes my ear as strange as well.
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Offline Porter

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Where you live, is "appetizing" a noun?
« Reply #4 on: November 29, 2006, 08:35:30 AM »
Tante, did you just make that up to make us feel stupid and uncultured? ;)
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Offline dkw

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Where you live, is "appetizing" a noun?
« Reply #5 on: November 29, 2006, 08:35:50 AM »
I've never seen or heard that usage.

"Appetizers" on the other hand, I see used a lot.  It means the same as hours dourves but is easier to spell and pronounce.
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Offline Porter

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Where you live, is "appetizing" a noun?
« Reply #6 on: November 29, 2006, 08:46:39 AM »
That usage I'm familiar with.
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Offline Farmgirl

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Where you live, is "appetizing" a noun?
« Reply #7 on: November 29, 2006, 11:54:25 AM »
yeah -- what dkw said.

I've never heard it as a noun.
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Offline rivka

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Where you live, is "appetizing" a noun?
« Reply #8 on: November 29, 2006, 11:56:47 AM »
Alternatively, "something appetizing" would work as well.

Tri-State area people talk funny. :P
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Offline Tante Shvester

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Where you live, is "appetizing" a noun?
« Reply #9 on: November 29, 2006, 12:59:03 PM »
I'm not making it up -- honest!  Around here, all the supermarkets have "Appetizing Departments" (AKA "Appy"), where you go for your potato salad, cole slaw, whitefish, etc.

I always thought that was what it was called until my friend said that it was entirely strange.

Do you guys even have smoked whitefish in the middle of the country?  'Cause if you don't, maybe that's why you don't have the word to go with it.

"Something appetizing" is correct, but it doesn't have the specific meaning of "appetizing" (the noun).  For all you know,"something appetizing" could be a bowl of chicken soup.

Which certainly is appetizing, but isn't Appetizing.
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Offline Porter

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Where you live, is "appetizing" a noun?
« Reply #10 on: November 29, 2006, 01:09:58 PM »
Potato salad and cole slaw are known to me as "side dishes", and would be found in the "deli" section of the grocery store.
« Last Edit: November 29, 2006, 01:14:26 PM by Porteiro »
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Offline Tante Shvester

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Where you live, is "appetizing" a noun?
« Reply #11 on: November 29, 2006, 01:12:58 PM »
They are side dishes or salads.  By themselves, they might just be called that.  But in conjunction with bagels and lox, whitefish and herring, they are elevated to "appetizing" status.
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Where you live, is "appetizing" a noun?
« Reply #12 on: November 29, 2006, 01:14:55 PM »
Are you sure you're not making this up? :P
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Offline Tante Shvester

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Where you live, is "appetizing" a noun?
« Reply #13 on: November 29, 2006, 01:19:49 PM »
Positive.

Ooh!  Look!  I have a distinctive regional English! :P  
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Offline rivka

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Where you live, is "appetizing" a noun?
« Reply #14 on: November 29, 2006, 02:43:48 PM »
I'm pretty sure this is a Yiddishism. And if it spreads (as "by her house" >.< has), I will be most displeased.
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Offline Tante Shvester

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Where you live, is "appetizing" a noun?
« Reply #15 on: November 29, 2006, 02:51:56 PM »
Quote
I'm pretty sure this is a Yiddishism. And if it spreads (as "by her house" >.< has), I will be most displeased.
"By her house" is a Yiddishism?  As in "I went by my brother's house for Thanksgiving."?

I just thought it was informal, spoken English.  Are you sure that it is non-standard?

But "appetizing" the noun seems pretty standard around here.  The supermarkets, mainstream places that they are, have appetizing departments.  But they tend to shorten it to "appy".  As in the overhead page: "John from Appy, you have a call on line 3."
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Offline Jonathon

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Where you live, is "appetizing" a noun?
« Reply #16 on: November 29, 2006, 02:54:33 PM »
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"I went by my brother's house for Thanksgiving."
Did you honk and wave as you went past?
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Offline Tante Shvester

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Where you live, is "appetizing" a noun?
« Reply #17 on: November 29, 2006, 03:01:46 PM »
"By my brother's house" is synonymous with "to my brother's house," as used in that context.

So, we went inside and pulled up a chair.
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Offline Porter

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Where you live, is "appetizing" a noun?
« Reply #18 on: November 29, 2006, 03:35:40 PM »
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I just thought it was informal, spoken English. Are you sure that it is non-standard?
I've never heard it.
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Offline rivka

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Where you live, is "appetizing" a noun?
« Reply #19 on: November 29, 2006, 03:53:24 PM »
Quote
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I'm pretty sure this is a Yiddishism. And if it spreads (as "by her house" >.< has), I will be most displeased.
"By her house" is a Yiddishism?  As in "I went by my brother's house for Thanksgiving."?

I just thought it was informal, spoken English.  Are you sure that it is non-standard?
Oy, gevalt.

Yes, QUITE sure.

To be "by" someone's house (in English) means to be nearby. I always ask people "Weren't you cold, sitting outside?" but I will totally be stealing Jonathon's response for future use.
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Offline Tante Shvester

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Where you live, is "appetizing" a noun?
« Reply #20 on: November 29, 2006, 04:30:04 PM »
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"Weren't you cold, sitting outside?"
Wait.  THAT'S not standard?

I majored in English, and it is the only language I know.   It disturbs me to learn that my grasp of it is so weak.  I have two kinds -- the formal, written kind, which I am pretty sure I have down pat, and the casual, spoken English that apparently is not standard.   When I type on forums, I tend to be more casual and folksy, so the differences show more.
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Offline Porter

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Where you live, is "appetizing" a noun?
« Reply #21 on: November 29, 2006, 04:34:40 PM »
Yes, that's standard.

*pat, pat*

*too late, remembers Tante doesn't like to be touched by strange men*

*apologizes, and barely remembers to not try to shake her hand in apology*
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Offline rivka

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Where you live, is "appetizing" a noun?
« Reply #22 on: November 29, 2006, 04:55:24 PM »
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"Weren't you cold, sitting outside?"
Wait.  THAT'S not standard?
I'm not sure if you're joking . . . so I'll clarify. That line has usually been my response to "I slept by her house" and the like.

As for the rest, you're lived in the NY area too long. Flee while you still can! ;)
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Offline Jonathon

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Where you live, is "appetizing" a noun?
« Reply #23 on: November 29, 2006, 06:14:48 PM »
I've heard things like "dropped by" or "stopped by," but "went by" sounds to me like you drove past. "Slept by" is right out.
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I majored in English, and it is the only language I know. It disturbs me to learn that my grasp of it is so weak.
It's not that you have a weak grasp of it. It's that you, just like every person on the face of the earth, speak a dialect. There's nobody in the world whose speech is not remarkable in some way or another.
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Offline rivka

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Where you live, is "appetizing" a noun?
« Reply #24 on: November 29, 2006, 08:18:15 PM »
The usage includes "was by" -- "I was by her house yesterday"; "ate by" -- "I eat by them every Shabbos"; "stay by" -- "Whenever I'm in New York, I stay by my cousins"; and various and sundry other atrocities.

The Yeshivish translation of "of the people, by the people, for the people" is "by the oilam, by the oilam, by the oilam."

More here.
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