DURIAN

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 4 June 2012

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Word of the Day:

DURIAN  (n. pl. -S)

Definition(s):

1. (n.) a large greenish-brown oval fruit with a prickly rind and soft pale pulp with a strong odor
2. (n.) an East Indian tree of the silk-cotton family that bears durian fruit

Useful info for word game players:

• Front hooks: (none)
• Back hooks: -S
• Anagrams: (none)
• Longer extensions: (none)
• Wraparounds: (none)
• Other Spellings: DURION
• Related Forms: (none)

Current theme:

Weird Foods

Epilogue:

The DURIAN is a large fruit about the size of a pineapple, with a prickly rind, which is grown in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and other countries in southeast Asia.  The fruit is edible and allegedly quite tasty, but it has a powerful odor that most find to be offensive.  The term comes from a word meaning “thorn” in the Malay language.

Weird foods are fashionable these days, thanks to books and television programs on the subject, as well as the proliferation of stores and restaurants with international or specialty offerings.  Perhaps you’ve heard of FUGU, the Japanese puffer fish that can be poisonous if not cut properly.  Or HAGGIS, the traditional Scottish dish consisting of minced heart, liver, and lungs of a sheep or calf, mixed with suet, onions, oatmeal, and other seasonings, traditionally simmered in the stomach of the animal.  Whether all this makes you say “mm!” or “hm?”, this week we will serve up a few more culinary oddities.

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