smorgasbord
pronunciation
How to pronounce smorgasbord in British English:
UK [ˈsmɔ:gəsbɔ:d]
How to pronounce smorgasbord in American English:
US [ˈsmɔrgəsbɔrd]
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- Noun:
- a collection containing a variety of sorts of things
- an assortment of foods starting with herring or smoked eel or salmon etc with bread and butter; then cheeses and eggs and pickled vegetables and aspics; finally hot foods; served as a buffet meal
Word Origin
- smorgasbord
- smorgasbord: see smear
- smorgasbord (n.)
- 1893, from Swedish smörgåsbord, literally "butter-goose table," from smörgås, "slice of bread and butter," compounded from smör "butter" (see smear (n.)) and gås, literally "goose" (and from the same Germanic root that yielded English goose (n.)). [Smörgås] properly signifies "a slice of bread-and-butter"; and has come by custom--in much the same way as when we familiarly speak of "taking a sandwich" for partaking of some light refreshment--to be applied synecdochically to the preliminary relish or appetizer partaken of before meals. ["Notes and Queries," Nov. 15, 1884] The final element is bord "table," from Proto-Germanic *burdam "plank, board, table" (see board (n.1)). Figurative sense of "medley, miscellany" is recorded from 1948.
Example
- 1. A smorgasbord of fashionable paranormal beliefs ( martin gardner )
- 2. The web is an endless smorgasbord of entertainment and information .
- 3. This valley is just one long smorgasbord .
- 4. Weave throughout a smorgasbord of cultural flavours , simmering in cafes , theatres , art-house cinemas , concert halls , galleries , museums and live music venues .
- 5. Too many web firms have a smorgasbord of privacy documents laden with legal jargon that appear deliberately designed to deter people from reading them .