The word doll has its origins as a diminutive form of the first name Dorothy, the English descendant of the Latin name Dorothea, which ultimately comes from the Ancient Greek words dōron, meaning “gift” and thea, the feminine form of theos, meaning “god”.ĭorothy became Doll by a process known as lambdacism, whereby the sound made by the letter r is replaced with that made by the letter l. The shortened name nachos was first recorded in a 1979 American cookbook called A Taste of Texas, which helped propel the dish to popularity across the United States and beyond. Not wanting to turn the hungry customers away, “Nacho” threw together the first ever example of his signature dish, calling them Nachos especiales, meaning “special Nachos”. The story goes that in 1943, a group of American women entered Club Victoria at a time when the chef was absent. Those familiar with Spanish may know that Nacho is a common diminutive form of Ignacio, itself derived from Ignatius, a Latin name with biblical origins.Īnaya worked at a restaurant named Club Victoria in Piedras Negras, Coahuila, a Mexican border town just across from Eagle Pass, Texas. Nachos are the creation of a Mexican restaurateur named Ignacio Anaya Garcia. Still, it appears that the dish was invented and named (just) south of the border. In fact, nachos in the sense of “a dish made from baked tortilla chips and cheese” entered the English lexicon before it was widely known in Spanish. They are most accurately described as “Tex-Mex”, a style of cooking born in the southwestern United States which, while heavily influenced by Mexican ingredients, is not widely practiced in Mexico itself. Most Mexicans wouldn’t consider nachos to be a staple of their national cuisine. And behind each of these particular stories, there is a name. Read on, because behind each name there is a story. What could Nacho, Doll and Hick have in common? These words certainly don’t resemble one another, and they are names for three very different types of thing. Even so, this month’s offering may appear particularly perplexing.

As our regular readers will know, the relationship between our selected words is not always obvious.

Define antidote