Interlards

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To scatter remarks, phrases or passages throughout a text or speech ; to push strips of fat into lean meat before it is cooked
2. To mix bits of one thing among another, as when phrases are sprinkled through a speech ; to thread fat through meat before roasting
3. Filling a text or talk with inserted comments or quotations ; stuffing lean cuts of meat with strips of bacon or suet before cooking

Etymology: "Interlards" is the third-person singular form of "interlard," a verb that began as a kitchen term. Late Middle English speakers used "interlarden" to mean to mix fat into meat, and the word came into English from Old French "entrelarder," which meant to put pieces of bacon into meat before cooking it. The French word was itself built from "entre-," meaning "between," and "larder," to smear with lard. That lard came from Latin "lārdum," meaning bacon fat, and its ultimate origin is uncertain, though it may be related to an ancient Greek adjective for fatted or rich. The figurative sense followed naturally. Just as a cook threaded strips of fat through lean meat, a writer or speaker could thread phrases, quotations or passages through a text, so the verb came to mean scattering material throughout a piece of writing or speech. The noun "interlard," which first appeared in Late Middle English as "interlarde," originally referred to abdominal fat and was derived from the verb.

Synonyms: intersperse, interpolate, pepper, stud, insert