What Does Barbecue Mean?
Wednesday August 20, 2008
We've been over it dozens of times, but it is still worth talking about. The word "Barbecue" might just be one of the most abused words in the language. For some it's a piece of equipment, like a barbecue grill. For others it is a flavor, like barbecue chips or barbecue sauce. Still others maintain that it is an event. Well the real truth about language is that the meaning of a word is what most people say it is. If one of these meanings takes hold that will ultimately be the really, true meaning of Barbecue. So to see where we stand this weeks question is:
POLL: What does "barbecue" mean to you?
1) A Type of Food
2) An Event, Like a Cookout
3) A Flavor, Like "Barbecue" Sauce
4) A Piece of Cooking Equipment, Like a Grill
5) A Process of Cooking
6) All of the Above
7) Other (Please Specify in the Comments)
Photo © 2008 Derrick Riches, licensed to About.com, Inc.
Comments
it depends as to whether you are using the word as a noun , an adjective or ??
it can be a noun if you use it tio mean something–meat– that has been subjected to the process often referred to as barbecueing, in which case it is a verb.
he time, the place, the person, and the ??? are the true basis as to what is meant by the word.
in my part of the south it meant a piece of meat, large in size the had been barbecue4d (cooked) over live coals for a periopd of from 7 or 8 up to 12 or 15 hours and constantly basted with a sauce during the period of cooking , said sauce containing no form of tomato or like product.
when this process is completed there is no necessity for any form of the so-called barbecue saucefound in the store or whereever.
Funny, I never thought about how many different meanings the word “Barbecue” has.
The first thought that comes to my mind when I hear the word is meat cooked or grilled with BBQ sauce. Yummmy!