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The point isn't whether the word "alimentary" means anything. You probably know related words like "alimony." (Tangentially, the humorous novel Through the Alim

The point isn't whether the word "alimentary" means anything. You probably know related words like "alimony." (Tangentially, the humorous novel Through the Alimentary Canal with Gun and Camera is a surprising early precursor to Fantastic Voyage and related stories of microscopic explorers inside the human body.) The point is that calling any food product "alimentary paste" is hilariously unappetizing.

twic 6y ago
'Paste' is an old word for pastry, too. It makes old recipes rather odd sounding [1]: > make six or eight ounces of paste as No. 319, roll it to the thickness of a quarter of an inch, or a little more, put pudding-cloth in a basin, sprinkle some flour over it, lay in your paste, and then the meat, together with a few pieces of fat; when full put in three wineglasses of water; turn the paste over the meat, so as not to form a lump, but well closed; then tie the cloth And who could resist paste pudding [2]? [1] http://www.foodsofengland.co.uk/beefpudding.htm http://www.foodsofengland.co.uk/beefpudding.htm [2] http://www.foodsofengland.co.uk/pastepudding.htm http://www.foodsofengland.co.uk/pastepudding.htm
- Stratoscope 6y ago
  When I was a kid, one of my classmates loved to eat library paste: http://www.letterology.com/2012/06/please-dont-eat-library-paste.html http://www.letterology.com/2012/06/please-dont-eat-library-p... Another classmate ate earthworms. I was so enraged by this that I tried to bite his ear off. Fortunately I did not succeed.
kilburn 6y ago
Fun fact: "pasta" literally means "paste" in Italian (and most languages from Latin).
- telesilla 6y ago
  The Dutch word 'tandapasta' has always amused me no end. (toothpaste)
  - pierot 6y ago
    Just ‘tandpasta’ :)
- legerdemain 6y ago
  As does the French pâté. And yet, in English, they suggest very different foods.
  - globular-toast 6y ago
    Pasta, pastry, paste, pasty. All related words. The French for pastry is pâte. Pâté means "pasted" as in "pasted fish". The French aliment simply means food, although it's not spoken very often in France. The word exists in English but it's quite rare and normally used in legal contexts like so many other words of French origin.
- bookofjoe 6y ago
  Related: the part of cheese that's not the rind is called the paste.
fl0wenol 6y ago
It is apparently a more precision definition for noodle (it's a historical term, _pasta alimentaria_) https://www.britannica.com/topic/pasta https://www.britannica.com/topic/pasta It must be made from wheat, but can be with or without eggs, and with or without dairy product. But it must be formed/extruded and dried. TIL

twic 6y ago

'Paste' is an old word for pastry, too. It makes old recipes rather odd sounding [1]: > make six or eight ounces of paste as No. 319, roll it to the thickness of a quarter of an inch, or a little more, put pudding-cloth in a basin, sprinkle some flour over it, lay in your paste, and then the meat, together with a few pieces of fat; when full put in three wineglasses of water; turn the paste over the meat, so as not to form a lump, but well closed; then tie the cloth And who could resist paste pudding [2]? [1] http://www.foodsofengland.co.uk/beefpudding.htm http://www.foodsofengland.co.uk/beefpudding.htm [2] http://www.foodsofengland.co.uk/pastepudding.htm http://www.foodsofengland.co.uk/pastepudding.htm

Stratoscope 6y ago
When I was a kid, one of my classmates loved to eat library paste: http://www.letterology.com/2012/06/please-dont-eat-library-paste.html http://www.letterology.com/2012/06/please-dont-eat-library-p... Another classmate ate earthworms. I was so enraged by this that I tried to bite his ear off. Fortunately I did not succeed.

kilburn 6y ago

Fun fact: "pasta" literally means "paste" in Italian (and most languages from Latin).

telesilla 6y ago
The Dutch word 'tandapasta' has always amused me no end. (toothpaste)
- pierot 6y ago
  Just ‘tandpasta’ :)
legerdemain 6y ago
As does the French pâté. And yet, in English, they suggest very different foods.
- globular-toast 6y ago
  Pasta, pastry, paste, pasty. All related words. The French for pastry is pâte. Pâté means "pasted" as in "pasted fish". The French aliment simply means food, although it's not spoken very often in France. The word exists in English but it's quite rare and normally used in legal contexts like so many other words of French origin.
bookofjoe 6y ago
Related: the part of cheese that's not the rind is called the paste.

fl0wenol 6y ago

It is apparently a more precision definition for noodle (it's a historical term, _pasta alimentaria_) https://www.britannica.com/topic/pasta https://www.britannica.com/topic/pasta It must be made from wheat, but can be with or without eggs, and with or without dairy product. But it must be formed/extruded and dried. TIL