R Is For Rhubarb, Rightly So

/ Ally Bean

Screen Shot 2016-03-21 at 11.01.10 AM“Lady, you know what happens at a sale, when two women get hold of the same dress? THAT’s a Rhubarb!”

~ Rhubarb, a 1951 baseball movie

~ ~ • ~ ~

I chose rhubarb as my letter “R” because, beyond knowing that it’s a tart vegetable with great health benefits, I knew there was a cute old movie about baseball and a cat named Rhubarb.

I remember seeing the movie somewhere along the line, and from that movie I knew that rhubarb was a slang term in baseball meaning a disagreement or a fight.

What I did not know when I started researching rhubarb is that the word is sometimes defined as nonsense.  As in you might say: “Jane is talking rhubarb.”

I also did not know that “rhubarb” is the word that extras in a play say while onstage to create background noise.

I also did not know that “on a rhubarb” was WWII fighter pilot slang for being on a strafing mission on enemy ground.

Finally, I also did not know that “hitting the rhubarb” is slang for getting so drunk that you can’t drive without going off the road.

~ ~ • ~ ~

And that, kids, is today’s installment of my A To Z Challenge theme, FOOD: Talking The Talk. 

52 thoughts on “R Is For Rhubarb, Rightly So”

  4. Fascinating! The only one I’d heard of was the nonsense definition. A cat? A movie? Good grief, what have I been doing with my life?!

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    • joey, I didn’t know the nonsense definition, but I remembered the movie as being cute in an old-fashioned silly movie sort of way. And now, of course, I’m fully versed in all uses of the word rhubarb. For those magic moments when such knowledge is useful! o.0

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    • Tamara Narayan, I’m doing all I can to keep you informed about nonsense. In fact, that might be one of the things I do best. Of course, my only question is: will you be eating rhubarb with a runcible spoon?

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      • 😀 We actually have rhubarb growing in the garden. Very nice crumble… 🙂 Another great post – though it made me hungry. I love how you bring different sayings and facts together. Great skill.

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        • Gulara, thank you. I know what you mean about being hungry. I have been since I chose food as my challenge topic. I don’t know how food bloggers do it; it’d weigh a ton if I wrote about food every day!

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  8. I didn’t know any of that! Learn something new, thank you Ms. Bean. It’s very interesting, all the expressive places that rhubarb is used. I don’t actually care to eat it though.

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  11. I did not know these things either. My grandma used to make rhubarb pies, and I used to eat the rhubarb straight out of the backyard. I’m not sure why, because I never really liked it. I guess it was because I could. Now I find it too tart for my tastes.

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  13. I once decided to make a strawberry rhubarb pie from scratch. My friend took a nap as I started cutting the rhubarb. When he woke up an hour later, I was still cutting the rhubarb. Luckily, he joined in. Rhubarb for me is always about hours of slicing it. 😉

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  15. I didn’t know any of that either. I just know that strawberry rhubarb pie is my absolute favorite and that no one in the grocery stores around here have any idea what it is.

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  19. I’m a huge fan of rhubarb, and I hate when strawberries are added to muck it up. I love making rhubarb crisp, and I’ve even bought rhubarb marmalade from American Spoon Foods. Don’t convert anyone–leave more for us.

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    • nance, I like the way you think! I agree, let’s keep rhubarb a secret. After writing and talking about it now, I’m adding it to my grocery list. I think a nice crisp is in order.

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