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Discussion Groups / English Usage / July 2009A side of sugar
Hello: Shrek 2 cartoon: [Donkey] -How 'bout a side of sugar for the steed? Any takes on the meaning of "side" here? I assume this is butcher- or animal-grower-speak and means a large piece of sugar: ---- side 12 a : one of the halves of the body of an animal or man on either side of the mesial plane <a side of beef> b : a cut of meat including that about the ribs of one lateral half of the body -- used chiefly of smoked pork products <a well-cured side> -- see PORK illustration Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged. ----- but I'm curious about other readings. -- Thanks. Marius Hancu > [Donkey] -How 'bout a side of sugar for the steed? > > Any takes on the meaning of "side" here? I am pretty sure it is a "side order", i.e. a supplementary item requested when ordering food, or provided unasked as part of the served material e.g.: "black coffee and a side of sugar and cream" "sugar-laden cereal with sugar on top and a side of sugar, please." "At South Silk Road in Qianhai, I recently had a dish of pan-fried goat cheese served with a side of sugar" "for dessert we all had strawberries served with a side of sugar and a large glass bowl full of fresh fromage blanc" "INSTANT DIABETIC COMA! Coming right up! Did you want a side of sugar with that?" "What's strange though is the type of lunch they provide-it's basically fried crap with a side of sugar" "Sweet Potato Fries hand cut & salted, served with a side of sugar and spice" “Why aren't my Cheese fries here” The Senator yelled “I want a deep fried Pepsi covered in whip cream with a side of sugar” >> [Donkey] -How 'bout a side of sugar for the steed? >> [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > requested when ordering food, or provided unasked as part of the > served material I'd agree. But as they warn, this is only for professional cartoonists, don't try it at home. --Jeff  SignatureThe comfort of the wealthy has always depended upon an abundant supply of the poor. --Voltaire > > [Donkey] -How 'bout a side of sugar for the steed? > [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > "black coffee and a side of sugar and cream" Ah, I get it. You're right. Thanks. Marius Hancu In article <352b99d2-d664-41b2-bad9-cc9c53668b78@q11g2000yqi.googlegroups.com>, > > "black coffee and a side of sugar and cream" > > Ah, I get it. You're right. I'm certainly familiar with this usage of "a side" but I've never heard it used for sugar and cream with a coffee. More usually - it seems to me - is the idea that the side order is *in addition" to what the dish ordinarily or usually comes with, as in: "I'll have the spaghetti with a side of fries." Signature"If you can, tell me something happy." - Marybones >In article ><352b99d2-d664-41b2-bad9-cc9c53668b78@q11g2000yqi.googlegroups.com>, [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] >addition" to what the dish ordinarily or usually comes with, as in: >"I'll have the spaghetti with a side of fries." I agree, but this is a reference to an animated movie in which animals speak. Cartoon horses may well want a side order of sugar instead of a paltry lump. SignatureTony Cooper - Orlando, Florida > >More usually - it seems to me - is the idea that the side order is *in > >addition" to what the dish ordinarily or usually comes with, as in: [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > speak. Cartoon horses may well want a side order of sugar instead of > a paltry lump. And this is an animated movie in which a donkey imagines himself to be a 'steed'... in which case he may well want all sorts of things. I liked the film. cheers, Stephanie > >In article > ><352b99d2-d664-41b2-bad9-cc9c53668b78@q11g2000yqi.googlegroups.com>, [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > speak. Cartoon horses may well want a side order of sugar instead of > a paltry lump. Are there any carnivores in the cartoon? As in "I'll have coffee, black, with a side of beef"? SignatureRoland Hutchinson He calls himself "the Garden State's leading violist da gamba," ... comparable to being ruler of an exceptionally small duchy. --Newark (NJ) Star Ledger ( http://tinyurl.com/RolandIsNJ ) Matthew Cope: > More usually - it seems to me - is the idea that the side order is *in > addition" to what the dish ordinarily or usually comes with, as in: > "I'll have the spaghetti with a side of fries." Or it's an optional component that you choose one of: "That comes with two sides. You can have soup, salad, veggies, fries, or baked potato." SignatureMark Brader | "Forgive me if I misunderstood myself, but Toronto | I don't think I was arguing in favour of that..." msb@vex.net | -- Geoff Butler My text in this article is in the public domain. > In article > <352b99d2-d664-41b2-bad9-cc9c53668b78@q11g2000yqi.googlegroups.com>, [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > addition" to what the dish ordinarily or usually comes with, as in: > "I'll have the spaghetti with a side of fries." I agree with almost all that I have read in this thread, but I think "a (or the) side" for "side order" is also used to separate two items normally joined, and that would indicate that the customer wants to unite or blend the two items himself. For example, "Waiter, I want the chef salad, with ranch dressing, but put the dressing on the side." (People watching their calories might say this in a restaurant. Others want to make sure there are no creepy crawlies being hidden by a thick mayo dressing.) The other message about coffee with cream and sugar on the side also, it seems to me, indicates that the customer is particular about how much cream and sugar he wants with his coffee, so he will add those items "to his own taste". He may have eaten in places in which coffee and tea are already mixed with cream and/or sugar. (A special order, coffee Boston, has double cream, and that means 2 of those miniature milk bottles of the cream are balanced on the side of the saucer. Well, "were balanced". I don't know of any place that uses those cute little milk bottles these days. Still, in most diners, the sugar bowl (or fancy rack with artificial sweetener) and the cream pitcher are usually on the pre-set table, so no such "side order" is needed. I wonder if, in those cappuccino bars, anyone orders the milk or other stuff "on the side". It seems to me those additives are integral to the mystique of "latte", etc. > I'm certainly familiar with this usage of "a side" but I've never heard > it used for sugar and cream with a coffee. > > More usually - it seems to me - is the idea that the side order is *in > addition" to what the dish ordinarily or usually comes with, as in: > "I'll have the spaghetti with a side of fries." Canadians seem often to use "side" for edibles ordered to be delivered separately, not added beforehand to the food or drink. A burger with fries on the side comes on two separate plates. Coffee with a side of cream and sugar means the cream and sugar servings are provided separately, not mixed by the server into the coffee (as commonly in England.) SignatureDon Phillipson Carlsbad Springs (Ottawa, Canada) >> I'm certainly familiar with this usage of "a side" but I've never heard >> it used for sugar and cream with a coffee. [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] >cream and sugar servings are provided separately, not mixed >by the server into the coffee (as commonly in England.) It seems appropriate here to distinguish between "a side" (a side order) and "on the side". Menus in the US often offer a main dish with a choice of two sides, meaning that the person ordering will choose two items to accompany the main dish. Something "on the side" is usually part of the order but not added to the order. For example, I might order a salad with dressing "on the side". This means that the salad dressing will come in a separate container and I will add as much or as little of it to my salad as I wish. Without that instruction, the kitchen may add salad dressing to my salad. SignatureTony Cooper - Orlando, Florida >>> I'm certainly familiar with this usage of "a side" but I've never heard >>> it used for sugar and cream with a coffee. [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] >wish. Without that instruction, the kitchen may add salad dressing to >my salad. Doesn't the canonical waitress, shouting orders to the guy in the kitchen, say things like "<A>, <B> back!", meaning the <A> on the menu, but with the <B> on the side to be added to suit the taste of the customer? That is, isn't "back" used in much the same way that people in this thread think of using "side" or "on the side"? SignatureEgbert White WAmE >>> I'm certainly familiar with this usage of "a side" but I've never heard >>> it used for sugar and cream with a coffee. [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] >wish. Without that instruction, the kitchen may add salad dressing to >my salad. The subject line gives me to think of a picture that was recently sent to us by an amused mother: Her two-year-old has climbed up onto the kitchen counter, has found a straw and a sugar bowl, and is contentedly sucking sugar through the straw. She wanted to put a quick halt to the proceeding, but couldn't resist taking a picture first. Among her other feelings was surprise that sucking sugar through a straw from a sugar bowl actually worked. SignatureEgbert White WAmE >Coffee with a side of cream and sugar means the >cream and sugar servings are provided separately, not mixed >by the server into the coffee (as commonly in England.) Not very commonly in England these days. In fact, probably not this century. SignatureKaty Jennison spamtrap: remove the first two letters after the @ Don wrote on Sun, 12 Jul 2009 13:22:58 -0400: >> I'm certainly familiar with this usage of "a side" but I've >> never heard it used for sugar and cream with a coffee. [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] >> comes with, as in: "I'll have the spaghetti with a side of >> fries." > Canadians seem often to use "side" for edibles ordered to be > delivered separately, not added beforehand to the food or > drink. A burger with fries on the side comes on two separate > plates. Coffee with a side of cream and sugar means the > cream and sugar servings are provided separately, not mixed > by the server into the coffee (as commonly in England.) Since I don't like and shouldn't eat salad drenched in dressing, I almost always ask for the dressing "on the side" and I will expect to be served a small bowl. I won't go into how much is in the bowl but a friend who is not diet conscious believes that I am (wastefully) served more than the usual amount and orders his salads that way too! SignatureJames Silverton Potomac, Maryland Email, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not > Don wrote on Sun, 12 Jul 2009 13:22:58 -0400: > [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > friend who is not diet conscious believes that I am (wastefully) served > more than the usual amount and orders his salads that way too! Yes, I think that the purpose of the "on the side" serving of dressing is to accommodate those who (like you and me) prefer less than the normal amount of dressing, those who prefer more, and those who merely don't want their lettuce to get soggy until they make it soggy themselves. A generous portion of dressing (usually in a plastic "souflé cup" at casual restaurants around here, holding a couple of fluid ounces) covers all the bases. SignatureRoland Hutchinson He calls himself "the Garden State's leading violist da gamba," ... comparable to being ruler of an exceptionally small duchy. --Newark (NJ) Star Ledger ( http://tinyurl.com/RolandIsNJ ) |
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