Arnold Zwicky's Blog

Today’s Zippy takes us to Billy’s Burg-O-Rama in Oxford MA.

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The strip is “about” politics (insofar as a Zippy is “about” anything), but this posting is about the libfix -((o/a)r)ama ‘display, spectacle, something really major’. And about food, starting with burgers (and clams and fish & chips).

The diner, a very small place (which gets mixed reviews):

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and its sign:

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Earlier on this blog:

from 9/10/09, “To the next level”: the playful libfix -((o)r)ama (that is -orama, -rama, -ama) and its history

from 2/15/10, “-orama-orama”: history and a collection of examples

The gloss ‘a display or spectacle’ is from Michael Quinion’s Affixes site on the element. In a number of its occurrences, it seems merely to refer to something (an event or an establishment, institution, or place) that is really big, really cool, or really significant.

Some of these, like Burg-O-Rama above, are food-related. For instance, Foodarama (with the -a- spelling variant rather than the etymological –o-, from the invention panorama):

Foodarama, also known as Cox’s Foodarama, is a supermarket chain in Texas, with its headquarters in Foodarama Store #1 in Brays Oaks, Houston. In Greater Houston, as of 2004 Foodarama operates nine stores. (link)

A commercial food establishment. Then a food event, the Beef-A-Rama in Minocqua WI, a  grilled beed cook-off;  the 52nd annual Beef-A-Rama in Minocqua is scheduled for September 23-24 of this year.

And a food preparation. From the Food Network’s program Guy’s Big Bite, with a recipe for Guido’s Lambo-Rama:

Guy Fieri makes lamb the Big Bite way: a whole Leg-O-Lamb, wrapped in bacon and served with aromatic Rosemary Au Jus. Black Eyed Basmati Salad, tossed in a honey-dijon vinaigrette, makes a primo side, and to end the meal with a bang, Guy’s busting out the flambee skills for his famous Texas French Toast Bananas Foster. (Episode: GI0815H)

Finally, an event that involves fish, but not directly as food: the Fish-O-Rama!, an annual fishing contest in Cedar Rapids IA, a benefit event for Boys & Girls Clubs of Cedar Rapids; the 14th Annual Fish-O-Rama! is set for August 6th and 7th of this year.

 

This entry was posted on April 9, 2016 at 9:12 am and is filed under Language and food, Libfixes, Linguistics in the comics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.