(Otherwise known as In Search of Lost Mustard.)
Today’s Mother Goose and Grimm:
(#1)
A bilingual pun, with the flavor of a portmanteau: Dijon (mustard) + déjà vu.
Mustard. From Wikipedia:
Dijon mustard (Moutarde de Dijon) is a traditional mustard of France, named after the town of Dijon in Burgundy, France, which was a centre of mustard making in the early Middle Ages and was granted exclusive rights in France in the 17th century. First used in 1336 for King Philip VI, it became popular in 1856, when Jean Naigeon of Dijon replaced the usual ingredient of vinegar in the recipe with verjuice, the acidic juice of unripe grapes.
The main ingredients of the condiment are brown mustard seeds (Brassica juncea), and white wine, or a mix of wine vinegar, water and salt designed to imitate the original verjuice. It can be used as an accompaniment to all meats in its usual form as a paste, or it can be mixed with other ingredients to make a sauce. The term “Dijonnaise” refers to a dish that is prepared with, or has a sauce containing, the mustard (including a blend with mayonnaise).
(#2)
It’s déjà vu all over again. From NOAD2 on déjà vu:
a feeling of having already experienced the present situation; tedious familiarity: to list the opponents of his policies is to invite boredom and a sense of déjà vu. ORIGIN early 20th cent.: French, literally ‘already seen.’
Remembrance of Mustard Past. Or in the original: À La Recherche De La Moutarde Perdue. Alternative translation: In Search of Lost Mustard.
All of this based on Proust’s masterpiece À La Recherche Du Temps Perdu, at first made famous in English translation under the title Remembrance of Things Past, now known under the more literally translated title In Search of Lost Time.
March 10, 2017 at 11:33 pm |
Maille, of course, is famous for the extravagantly subjunctive slogan, « Il n’y a que Maille qui m’aille. »