“would you like a cookie, son?”
20 03 2006I work in an area of town that is very near some neighborhoods where it seems the majority of the people are native Spanish speakers. I was driving through there today to go pick up some lunch and was looking at the rows of small shops lining the streets, all of them with their signage solely in Spanish. One of them was a bakery, and as soon as I saw it, an image of a “Mexican wedding cake” popped into my head. This is what they look like:
Apparently these kinds of cookies are also called Russian tea cakes or Russian tea biscuits, but when I was growing up, I always heard them called Mexican wedding cakes. I started wondering if maybe they used to be called something else, and that maybe the Mexican thing got stuck on there as some sort of weird baking-related ethnic insult. I wondered if I had gone into that little bakery and asked for a Mexican wedding cake, would the proprietor have gotten angry with me for coming into his store and insulting him?
“You don’t think a Mexican can afford a real cake?”
At any rate, I find myself suddenly very uncomfortable with their nomenclature. On the plus side of things, I don’t really ever have to say it since I don’t particularly like that kind of cookie and won’t be asking for one. And I suppose if I ever needed to, I could just ask for “one of the little round cookies with powdered sugar on it.”
This little thought train reminded me that a few years ago I started seriously wondering if the term “spic & span” was born of some jab at hispanics. “Spic” is obviously a racial epithet, and “span” is half of “spanish.” Does anyone think there’s something to that, or am I just overthinking here?
By the way, today is the first day of spring. We’re supposed to get like 6″ of snow tomorrow. WTF?
I like those little cookies. I won’t say what they are, I certainly don’t want to offend anybody- especially people who could verbally plot my demise right in front of me, while I would be thinking they are just discussing the unnamed cookies.
I’m not a huge fan of that type of cookie, but I guess if I had nothing else to eat I would eat some of them.
And as for the snow, this is the shittiest start to spring that I have seen in awhile, especially since I have spent probably $400 in the last couple months on bathing suits, sandals, capri’s and other summer stuff…I SO have spring fever!!
Spic and Span has nothing to do with the Spanish which I’m pretty sure we all know. I believe it’s derived from “Spick and Span” which means, pretty much, new. When you clean with “Spic and Span” it looks “Spick and Span” again.
Still, Spic is a derogatory term for someone Spanish. That being said, the people we call a Spic aren’t even from Spain most 99.9% of the time. The aren’t Spanish, they are Latinos. Or whatever they want to call themselves. I’m not really clear on all of that but I don’t believe that Spaniards consider themselves Latinos and it’s pretty much just the people from south of the equator, like Mexico and South America, that call themselves that. I think it’s an attempt to seperate themselves from Hernán Cortés and the Francisco Pizarros of the world who went and raped their ancestors and forced Spanish on them.
Ooops, I did it again.
Now, who wants a Mexican wedding cake?
Explanation of spic and span:
“spick and span” actually has a rather interesting history. The phrase was originally “spick and span new,” and while we usually use “spick (or “spic”) and span” to mean “spotlessly clean” (as they say in the commercials), the original meaning was “brand new.” “Spick and span” dates back to the 16th century and was originally used to describe a brand new ship. The “spick” was a spike or nail, and the “span” came from an Old Norse word, “spannyr,” meaning “fresh wood chip.” A ship that was “spick and span new” was therefore “new in every nail and piece of wood.”
Although both “spick” and “span” had existed in English for hundreds of years, the combination of “spick and span” seems to have been adopted from the Dutch version of “spick and span,” “spiksplinternieuw.” It’s a shame the phrase was translated into English, actually. Wouldn’t you like to hear a TV announcer try to sell you “spiksplinternieuw”?
Now, on to the other stuff:
She speaks Spanish, though the languages most spoken in Spain are Castilian, followed by Basque, Catalan and Galecian.
Spaniards do NOT consider themselves Latinos! I have a friend from El Salvador who explained that she considers herself Latino because she’s from a Latin country; Spain is in Europe and the term Hispanic more describes those people from Spain. The terms are, however, used interchangably for the most part, which pisses her off.
Mexico was inhabited for centuries by pre-Columbian civilizations, including the Aztec, Olmec, Maya and Toltec, then ruled by the Spanish for 300 years. It is the most populous Spanish speaking country on earth! Mexico gained its independence from Spain in September of 1810.
And Mexico is NOT below the equator…. :o) Nor is a northern portion of South America.
Holy shit…there’s a history lesson for you kids!!
How the hell do you know about spic and span? I swear you and Chris are filled with a ridiculous amount of useless information. Which compliments your intelligence, don’t get me wrong, it’s just amazing…
Google or Wikipedia or something.