What does a mess of fish mean?

1 A collection or portion, esp of meat, sufficient for a meal. I’m most familiar with using the word mess in regards to describing a quantity of vegetable or a quantity of fish that is sufficient for a meal.

What does a mess of greens mean?

In the Southern states, a large quantity of greens to serve a family is commonly referred to as a “mess o’ greens.” The exact quantity that constitutes a “mess” varies with the size of the family.

Why is it called a mess of beans?

According to numerous dictionaries mess comes from the past participle of the Latin mittere meaning “to send”, because it was what was sent to the table. Indeed, many uses of mess seem to jibe with this origin: mess of beans, mess hall, messmate, mess kit, and so on.

Why do we say kettle of fish?

Fish kettles are the long saucepans that have been used since the 17th century to poach fish, especially large fish like whole salmon. “It is customary for the gentlemen who live near the Tweed to entertain their neighbours and friends with a Fete Champetre [a picnic], which they call giving ‘a kettle of fish’.

How much is a kettle of fish?

Subscriber Henk Rietveld wrote to say that he had heard, while working in Newfoundland, that kettle of fish was a corruption of quintal of fish, a measure either of 100 pounds or a hundredweight.

Why did slaves eat collard greens?

Masters gave their slaves off on Sundays and on few holidays and religious days. Collards are a fibrous greens which required extensive cooking to make them tender and easy to digest. Collards are also full of vitamins and minerals.

Why do Southerners eat collard greens?

Classic slow-cooked Southern-style greens originated in the South during slavery. African slaves brought to America had to feed their families from precious few foods. Because greens such as collards grew abundantly, they often used them as the basis for one-pot meals.

Where does the word mess originate from?

Old French mes
The root of mess is the Old French mes, “portion of food” (cf. modern French mets), drawn from the Latin verb mittere, meaning “to send” and “to put” (cf. modern French mettre), the original sense being “a course of a meal put on the table”; cfr.

What does the expression all mouth and no trousers mean?

British, informal. —used to describe someone who talks a lot about doing something but never actually does it.

What does a fine kettle of fish mean?

an awkward, difficult, or bad situation; muddle; mess: He’s managed to get himself into a fine kettle of fish! a state of affairs; a matter under consideration: The new proposal is quite a different kettle of fish from the last one.

What does a funny kettle of fish mean?

Definition of kettle of fish 1 : a bad state of affairs : mess.