hodgepodge
noun

- a mixture of dissimilar ingredients; a jumble

The American Heritage Dictionary

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ORIGIN

Hodgepodge (early 17th century) is an alteration of the Middle English hotchpot, a thick soup or stew made of various types of meat and vegetables.

Hotchpot was derived from the Anglo-Norman hochepot, which in turn evolved from the French hocher, meaning to shake.

So hochepot / hotchpot simply means lots of different things thrown into a pot, shaken and cooked.

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OTHER MISH-MASH DISHES

Hodgepodge is not unlike “bubble and squeak”, only cooked in a pot instead of fried in a pan. British cuisine may have a bad reputation but there is no lack of interesting names for delicacies served on the Island:

- inky pinky – another stew, of Scottish origin, made from leftover cold roast beef that is added to a vegetable stock at the last minute and cooked with onions and carrots.

- pish pash - an Indo-British leftover dish made with rice, meat, vegetables and Indian spices.

- whim wham - a type of trifle that typically includes sponge cake, orange flavouring, almonds, sherry and/or brandy.

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SYNONYMS for a collection containing a variety of miscellaneous things:

all shapes and sizes, all sorts, alphabet soup, clutter, conglomeration, crazy quilt, dog’s breakfast, dog’s dinner, everything but the kitchen sink, farrago, gallimaufry, goulash, grab bag, HODGEPODGE, hotch-potch, hotchpot, jambalaya, jumble, mash-up, mélange, mingle-mangle, mishmash, mixed bag, motley collection, omnium-gatherum, patchwork quilt, pick ’n’ mix, potpourri, ragbag, scissors-and-paste job, smorgasbord

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SMUGGLE OWAD into a conversation today, say something like:

“The report was just a HODGEPODGE of different ideas with no clear structure.”

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THANKS to Eva for suggesting today’s word.

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HERZLICHEN DANK to all readers helping me keep OWAD alive with single or monthly donations at:

https://donorbox.org/please-become-a-friend-of-owad-3

and,

Paul Smith, IBAN: DE75 7316 0000 0002 5477 40