Contents
- 1 Where does the saying keen as mustard originate?
- 2 What is the meaning of as keen as mustard?
- 3 When did people say Keen?
- 4 What does cutting the mustard mean?
- 5 What does Percival mean?
- 6 What does peachy keen mean slang?
- 7 When did Kevin Keen first start making mustard?
- 8 When was keen’s mustard bought by McCormick Foods?
- 9 Where was the first mustard factory in London?
Where does the saying keen as mustard originate?
The phrase is first recorded in William Walker’s exhaustively titled Phraseologia Anglo-Latina, or phrases of the English and Latin tongue; together with Paroemiologia Anglo-Latina, 1672: “As keen as mustard.”
What is the meaning of as keen as mustard?
: very excited and interested : very enthusiastic I gave him the job because he was willing to learn and seemed as keen as mustard.
When did people say Keen?
The first records of the word keen in English come from before 900. It comes from the Old English word cēne and is related to the Old Norse kœnn, meaning “wise, skillful.” Keen wasn’t used in a slang way to mean “excellent” until the 1900s.
What is the saying as mustard?
If someone is keen as mustard they are very eager to do something. I have an adult pupil who scored very low in assessments but is keen as mustard. Note: You can also describe someone as mustard-keen. Sir Richard was mustard-keen to say his bit.
Why does mustard mean good?
That’s why, as early as the 1600s, hot/strong/keen as mustard was a figure of speech for something extremely powerful, passionate, or enthusiastic. These qualities are very admirable or desirable, so it’s perhaps no surprise that mustard took the jump to connotations of “genuine, superior, excellent.”
What does cutting the mustard mean?
To cut the mustard is “to reach or surpass the desired standard or performance” or more generally “to succeed, to have the ability to do something.” For instance, Beyoncé really cut the mustard in her new song.
What does Percival mean?
noun. Also Perceval, Per·ci·vale. Arthurian Romance. a knight of King Arthur’s court who sought the Holy Grail: comparable to Parzival or Parsifal in Teutonic legend. a male given name: from Old French words meaning “pierce” and “valley.”
What does peachy keen mean slang?
chiefly US, informal : very good : fine or excellent. See the full definition for peachy keen in the English Language Learners Dictionary.
Who uses the word Keen?
It was spoken by Scandinavia inhabitants and their settlements overseas from around the 7th century and up to the 15th century. Besides Old Norse, the word “keen” is used to denote “strong” and “bold” in other languages such as Dutch and German.
What does’keen as mustard’mean in Australia?
What does ‘Keen as mustard’ mean in Australia? Australian slang ‘Keen as mustard’ meaning?
When did Kevin Keen first start making mustard?
Unfortunately it’s not correct. Keen (and we have this from Kevin Keen, who is of that family) started making mustard in 1742. There are numerous citations of the phrase in print from more than a century earlier.
When was keen’s mustard bought by McCormick Foods?
In 1998, Keen’s Mustard was bought by McCormick Foods Australia. Keen’s asked Australians to search their homes for nostalgic Keen’s memorabilia. The search uncovered historic advertisements and even an original mustard powder tin dating back to 1904. In 2000, Keen’s Mustard took the memorabilia on tour to share with the rest of Australia.
Where was the first mustard factory in London?
The first mustard factory in London was opened by Messrs Keen & Sons at Garlick Hill in 1742, and in the 1890s the chimes of the Royal Exchange, set to the well known song ‘The Roast Beef of Old England’, could be heard, during a lull in the traffic, at Keen’s factory.