blackwolfmt
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The Origin of the Word “Avocado” Is About to Make You Really Uncomfortable
There are tons of reasons to love avocados. Not only are they chock-full of good fats that keep your heart healthy and cut your cancer risk, but they
taste dang delicious. But they might take on a new giggle-worthy meaning when you learn their backstory.
Avocados originally came from Mexico and Central America, where the indigenous Nahua people found them. Back then, avocados were called the Nahuatl
word āhuacatl—which also happened to mean “testicles.” Scholars think the Nahua chose the name because of the fruit has a, uh, suggestive shape
and was considered an aphrodisiac, according to NPR. The Nahua probably used the anatomical definition as slang, like how we might use “nuts”
today, Nahuatl scholar Magnus Pharao Hansen, PhD, tells Snopes.
When the Spanish conquistadors came, they changed the name to aguacate, according to Today I Found Out. The United States imported the fruits, but
they were a tough sell because Americans had a hard time saying the word. Marketers tried using “avagato pear” and “alligator pear” in
reference to its shape (a more G-rated choice than the first time around). Eventually, they settled on “avocado.” Check out these other words that
have totally changed meanings.
Some people claim “guacamole” means “testicle sauce” because it comes from āhuacamōlli—a combination of āhuacatl (avocado) and mōlli
(sauce). But Mesoamerican language specialist Frances Karttunen, PhD, says that isn’t quite accurate. Guac didn’t come around until the fruit
became aguacate, and that Spanish translation didn’t carry the same double meaning the Nahuatl word did.
“Seems to me that contemporary Nahuah get a giggle out of looking up at the fruit hanging in the trees and thinking of them as vegetable
testicles,” says Dr. Karttunen. “But, except in jest, I don’t think a Nahua would imagine āhuacamōlli to be anything other than mashed up
avocado.”
So understand dont waste your time always searching for those wasted years
face up and make your stand and realize that your living in the golden years
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willardguy
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I can remember the term "alligator pear" from my childhood. evidently huevos took over!
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AKgringo
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Maybe it was "alligator pair"?
If you are not living on the edge, you are taking up too much space!
"Could do better if he tried!" Report card comments from most of my grade school teachers. Sadly, still true!
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woody with a view
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I’ve never heard of green balls before. Blue balls yes, but I digress!
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4x4abc
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add guácala to the mix - a Mexican expression for extreme disgust
Harald Pietschmann
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woody with a view
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Guacale=Stinky
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Paco Facullo
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Thank God avocados don't have fur on um...
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watizname
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I yam what I yam and that\'s all what I yam.
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Daventec
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Now, I can't unlearn this.
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pacificobob
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also= guide her
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Skipjack Joe
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In south america it's called palta, which is what the Inca's called it. They give you a blank stare if you ask them for an avocado.
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basautter
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Interesting. I will be sure to share this new information the next time I am eating guacamole at a restaurant with friends!
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