Klarinet Archive - Posting 000367.txt from 1995/02
From: Jay Mann <Jay_Mann@-----.NZ> Subj: Alfalfa (was: re:breathing) Date: Sun, 19 Feb 1995 12:50:07 -0500
Edwin Weaner, responding somewhat off-topic to a query about arthritis in
older clarinet players, wrote:
>
> Anyone with allergies out there? Try alfalfa. Translated
> from Arabic meaning "father of all foods", alfalfa will relieve you of
[snip]
No way. Al-fasa-fasa means 'the best fodder'. I had this translation
confirmed for me by a beautiful Arabic scholar in Istanbul, no kidding. The
history of alfalfa involves the Persian invasion of Greece, the Moorish
occupation of Spain, the California Gold Rush, and Thomas Jefferson. In
this instance, the Moorish term al-fasa-fasa received the Castilian lisp
treatment, re-emerging as alfalfa.
Jay D Mann <jmann@-----.nz>
Christchurch, New Zealand
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