Discussion»Questions»Food and Drink» Why are potatoes referred to as "Spuds".....How many other crazy nicknames for fruit and veg can you think of or invent ?
1. informal a potato. 2. a small, narrow spade for cutting the roots of plants, especially weeds. 3. a short length of pipe that is used to connect two components or that takes the form of a projection from a fitting to which a pipe may be screwed. "a spud washer" 4. a chisel-like tool, as for removing bark or digging into ice.
verb 3rd person present: spuds
1. dig up or cut (plants, especially weeds) with a spud. 2. make the initial drilling for (an oil well).
Origin late Middle English (denoting a short knife): of unknown origin. The sense ‘potato’ (dating from the mid 19th century) was originally slang and dialect.
So, the slang word might have come from the spade with which people dug them up, or the knife with which people cut them up?
This post was edited by Reverend Muhammadovsky at August 21, 2018 6:35 AM MDT
Good answer Master Element ....I win would like to add a comment about no3 though....a short peice of pipe threaded both ends and used to connect between fittings is called a nipple and not a spud washer..
I use to fetch and carry for my dad when I was little'r .....and I know what fings are called.....and it ain't wat yew Sid .... You still get Asker's pic for doing good'ish home work...:)
Same here, but there are Americans that call peanuts goobers. There is a candy called Goobers (chocolate covered peanuts) and a "goober" can be a kindhearted, rather oblivious goofball. it's term of endearment really.
The explanation for why we sometimes refer to potatoes as spuds is much simpler.
Among other definitions, a spud is a sharp, narrow spade used to dig up large-rooted plants. Around the mid-19th century—the first documented reference occurs in 1845 in New Zealand—this implement of destruction began lending its name to one of the things it was often used to dig up: potatoes. Eventually, the nickname caught on throughout the English-speaking world.
The ultimate origin of the word “spud” isn’t known. It first appeared in English around 1440 and referred to a short dagger, possibly from the Dutch spyd, the Old Norse spjot (spear), or the Latin spad (sword). Whatever the case, after the 15th century, the meaning of the word expanded: Instead of referring just to “a short dagger,” a spud could be one of various types of digging implements—and, eventually, referred to those tubers we all know and love.
Element 99 