Word for Wednesday: Pudding

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Before you tuck in to your Christmas dinner tomorrow, let's look at the not-so-appetizing origins of the word ‘pudding’.

It’s worth noting first the difference in meanings between the American English and British English word ‘pudding’.

In the US, ‘pudding’ now almost exclusively refers to a sweet, soft milk-based dessert usually eaten cold.

In the UK, you can usually take the word ‘pudding’ to mean ‘dessert’ unless referring to a specific savoury dish such as ‘black-pudding’ or ‘Yorkshire pudding’…

The beginnings of the word arose at the turn of the 14th century and the word ‘poding’ which referred to a kind of sausage made using the stomach or entrails of a pig or sheep (yuck!) which was stuffed with mincemeat and seasoning then boiled.

Personally, I much prefer today’s definition and can’t wait to dig into my 'Christmas pud' tomorrow!

Happy holidays from Spellzone!


24 Dec 2014
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One of the students has put in a huge amount of effort in completing Spellzone at least 3 times a week since his arrival with us in January. Looking at his scores after the latest GL testing, his standardised score has risen from 99 to 131. This is a truly phenomenal result. I just wanted to share the best result I have ever seen.

Terrie Penrose-Toms, Casterton College

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