Word of the Day

: May 24, 2014

kickshaw

noun KIK-shaw

What It Means

1 : a fancy dish : delicacy

2 : a showy trifle : trinket

kickshaw in Context

The display case was filled with costume jewelry and various kickshaws from the 1920s.

"Mitra's Chocolates on Military Rd in Spit Junction is a haven for sweet-toothed connoisseurs, with a smorgasbord of fine-quality, hand-crafted kickshaws that tempt the eyes as well as the taste buds." - From an article by Emma Page in Mosman & Lower North Shore Daily (Australia), March 25, 2010

Did You Know?

"Kickshaw" began its career in the late 16th century as a borrowing from French "quelque chose"-literally, "something." In line with the French pronunciation of the day, the "l" was dropped and the word was anglicized as "kickshaws" or "kickshoes." English speakers soon forgot about the word's French origin and, by taking "kickshaws" as plural, created the new singular noun "kickshaw." These days, you are most likely to encounter "kickshaw" in historical contexts or quotations from older sources. For example, the following sentence from a 2008 article in The Republican (Springfield, Massachusetts) described a 19th century meal: "Dinner would begin with 'kickshaws,' appetizers such as breadsticks, dips, spreads, olives, celery and oysters."