Re: virus: official vegetables

Wade T.Smith (wade_smith@harvard.edu)
Mon, 13 Jul 98 21:29:04 -0500


>As for rhubarbs, they ain't even edible... ;-)

Well, as my esteemed colleague from the tropics will attest, I stridently
disagree, at least on the food front. I'll eat rhubarb (not commonly
pluralized except for definition 3, see below...) anywhere, anytime, even
raw.

But the main reason I mentioned it as chief competition for the avocado
(sorry, the mango is nice, but not as versatile, surely), _is_ because of
def. #3, see below....

rhu-barb n.
1. Any of several plants of the genus Rheum, especially R. rhubarbarum,
having long, green or reddish acidic leafstalks that are edible when
sweetened and cooked. Also called pie plant.
2. The dried, bitter-tasting rhizome and roots of Rheum palmatum or R.
officinale of eastern Asia, used as a laxative.
3. Informal. A quarrel, fight, or heated discussion.

(And our lofty rhubarb also appears on the medicinal stage....)

Whereas, if we're ready, willing, and able to get into a rhubarb about
this, only one look at def. #3, see below, is required to crown the
champion....

av-o-ca-do n.
1. A tropical American tree (Persea americana) having oval or pear-shaped
fruit with leathery skin, yellowish-green flesh, and a large seed. Also
called alligator pear.
2. The edible fruit of this tree.
3. Color. A dull green.

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Wade T. Smith
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