Monday, July 6, 2009

Lagniappe: Waiting for Elmo, Monsterpiece Theatre


Or as we used to say in Quito, una ñapa.

(Click on image to play from YouTube.)

From Wikipedia: Lagniappe refers to a small gift given to a customer by a merchant at the time of a purchase (such as a 13th doughnut when buying a dozen), or more broadly, "something given or obtained gratuitously or by way of good measure."[1] The word is used in Trinidad and Tobago, Puerto Rico, Louisiana, Eastern Oklahoma, Southern Arkansas, Charleston in South Carolina, southern and western Mississippi, the gulf coast of Alabama, and parts of eastern Texas. The word entered English from Louisiana French, in turn derived from the American Spanish phrase la ñapa ('something that is added' ). The term has been traced back to the Quechua word yapay ('to increase; to add'). In Andean markets it is still customary to ask for a yapa when making a purchase. The seller usually responds by throwing in a little extra. Although this is an old custom, it is still widely practiced today in Louisiana.

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