« Recent math contest | Main | I'm a nerd in many dimensions »
February 03, 2007
What a degree in Russian gets you
When Napoleon invaded Russia, he learned what every other invader learns. The winters SUCK in Russia. He lost 98 percent of his army to Russian hospitality.
The blessed Cossacks followed him all the way back to Paris. Remember that Russians weren't the most cultured group of this time, and they surely offended the sensitivities of Parisian restaurateurs, who were famous for quality food served VERY slowly. They would pound on the tables of the restaurants, screaming "Bistro, bistro" or "Quickly, Quickly" in Russian. The Parisians, ever accomodating of occupying armies, quickly put tables outside of the restaurants and began to serve faster, simpler fare.
And now the French have bistros.
Posted by G at February 3, 2007 09:03 PM
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.glennalicious.org/cgi-bin/mt/mt-tb.cgi/611
Comments
Awwww, you answered my request for a story on the word bistro on my birthday. How sweet! I'll pretend it wasn't coincidental. *grin*
Posted by: BJ at February 3, 2007 11:58 PM
You had to get a degree to learn that? I think I heard about it on Rachel Ray.
Posted by: Kevin at February 4, 2007 09:29 AM
Oui mais un autre possibilité est le mot ancien >. On le prononce presque comme >. Un bistraud a été un vendeur des vins.
----
OK but another possibility is the old word "bistraud". It's pronounced similarly to "bistro". A "bistraud" was a wine merchant.
----
It's thought that the title became the name of the place where he peddled his wares. Of course, it could be Russian as well. Qui peut savoir?
Posted by: Jim (The Canuck One) at February 4, 2007 07:52 PM