Food as Idiom, or "In the Soup"

I don't know if you have noticed, but there are many food-related idoms that have made our way into the English language (many via the French channel, which isn't surprising, given the Norman invasion and the one-time supremacy of French cooking as a symbol of refined taste). The origins of various words and phrases simply fascinates me, so you're in for it now.

I've always thought it was interesting to state someone's "in the soup" to mean that they are in trouble. I had always supposed it was because the soup was scalding or they couldn't swim. See Barry Popik's The Big Apple for some interesting details about the phrase, which possibly originated in a restaurant or on the baseball field, but (quel suprise) was popularized in New York due to a controversial election year.  

Another descriptive (and similar) food metaphor is to say someone's "out of the frying pan and into the fire." According to Answers.com, it means "from a bad situation to one that is much worse. ... This expression, a proverb in many languages, was first recorded in English in 1528." The entry also notes similar idioms exist elsewhere. "Out of the frying pan and into the fire" also is a song title by Meat Loaf, circa 1993, a fact which I had forgotten.

For detailed comments about other common expressions, such as "the apple of my eye," "not worth his salt" and "a red herring," check out an August article in Smithsonian Magazine here.

You also could check out A Hog on Ice by Charles E. Funk, a wonderful classic on the topic of word and phrase origins, or the columns of my all-time favorite, Evan Morris, aka The Word Detective.

Putting Together a Healthy Potluck Lunch

One of the pitfalls of trying to eat healthy is to put together a healthy lunch. This is especially difficult in the world of potlucks ahead of us during the holidays.

Here are some suggestions.

Ask beforehand what's on the menu; even if you can't find out, you can bring a healthy main dish (or side dish that can serve as your main dish) to fill up on.

Take half a sandwich and fill up on the salad, fruit and/or a little soup, depending on what's available. You can have some of the cream soup in moderation, especially if, as happened today at our women's group, it's a creamy vegetable soup.

Limit everything you eat to a total of 1 to 1 1/2 C. of food. This will ensure you don't have the "stuffed turkey" feeling you might get at a potluck or Thanksgiving.

Don't hang out by the food; if possible, serve yourself and go sit away from the serving platters.

In other words, don't do everything I did today, such as getting an eggnog latte on the way and going back for another serving of chicken salad croissants. It is, however, an improvement upon my funeral luncheon forays in April. Taking half a bowl of the creamy soup, eating extra spinach salad and limiting the dessert portion were some of the better ideas I implemented.