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Things I did not know...The etymology of Pumpernickel

05/08/07, by Kate Hopkins Email 2423 views • Categories: Bread

Ah...well.

Ahem.

Pumpernickel - From two German words. Pumpern, which translates into "To break wind". And Nickel, which means "Goblin, devil, rapscallion".

In other words...pumpernickel means "farting bastard".

References here, here, here, and here.

This post on the etymology of Pumpernickel has been brought to you by Beano! Beano, for all of you bastards out there.


Permalink • 4 comments

Comments, Pingbacks:

Comment from: Vanessa [Visitor] Email · http://www.whatgeekseat.com
I love this! But honestly, I haven't eaten enough pumpernickel to know...does it cause gas?
PermalinkPermalink 05/08/07 @ 16:00
Comment from: Butt-Head [Visitor] Email
Heh heh. Heh heh heh. You said "Fart." Heh heh heh. Heh heh.

But what Vanessa said -- I mean, I've had plenty of pumpernickel and never noticed any problems, er, down there. Is it possible the stuff we get today is toned down? If that's the case you gotta figure there's a bunch of dedicated wind-chasers out there scouring Old World bakeries for the old-timeyest, flatugenicest loaf, like twisted Mimi Sheratons on the trail of the ur-backdraft-bialy.

PermalinkPermalink 05/09/07 @ 03:13
Comment from: Lexy [Visitor] Email · http://www.gdr-wunderkammer.org
I used to live in Germany and frequently enjoyed a show that dealt with German-French differences (culture, language, etc.). One episode dealt with the etymology of pumpernickel. There are like 5 German "stories" for how the word developed, and one French story too. If you read German or French, check it out here: http://www.arte.tv/de/suche/864084.html
PermalinkPermalink 05/11/07 @ 15:45
Comment from: mooncrazy [Visitor] Email · http://pbetouffee.blogspot.com/
This one really made me laugh. I will now insult, with wild abandonment, and call them a Pumpernickel.
PermalinkPermalink 05/12/07 @ 09:13

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