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pretzel
[ pret-suhl ]
noun
- a crisp, dry biscuit, usually in the form of a knot or stick, salted on the outside.
- a larger version of this, made of soft, chewy bread dough.
pretzel
/ ˈprɛtsəl /
noun
- a brittle savoury biscuit, in the form of a knot or stick, glazed and salted on the outside, eaten esp in Germany and the US
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Word History and Origins
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Word History and Origins
Origin of pretzel1
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Example Sentences
Here we can group everything from sensations like pleasure and pain to emotions like fear and anger and joy to the peculiar private experiences of hearing a dog bark or tasting a salty pretzel or seeing a blue door.
Kena Peay’s cast-iron skillet recipe is crisp on the edges, gooey and chocolatey in the center, and a little bit of a stunt with marshmallows and pretzels on top
You’ve got your pretzels, your ice cream cones, your pizzas.
Three years ago, the embassies of Sweden and Germany welcomed the public to a World Cup viewing party in the Swedish ambassador’s back garden, complete with free beer and pretzels.
Made with both whole-wheat and regular flour, rolled oats, pretzels, chocolate chunks, and walnuts, they’re basically an entire bulk section stuffed into cookie form.
How else to explain the pretzel-like logic undergirding his stance?
Supporters will cheer because he's not turning himself into a pretzel for the right like he did in 2008.
Romney needs to just be who he is and quit trying to turn himself into a pretzel for the right, as he did last time around.
If he stays true to his tweets, pretzel sandwiches will be on the menu.
Weintraub says, grinning his boyish grin and polishing off a pretzel.
She hat haar as prown ash a pretzel,Her eyes vas himmel-plue, Und ven dey looket indo mine,Dey shplit mine heart in two.
When they were out of the yard, and bound along the road, Carl Pretzel threw back his head and began to laugh.
Jo opened the bag, fished out a pretzel and began to nibble it.
Then I saw that the curled pretzel, lying there on the floor, was very like a little coiled-up snake.
Oftentimes a salted pretzel is just the thing, or a salted wafer will greatly help.
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About This Word
What does pretzel logic mean?
Pretzel logic is an expression used to describe someone’s “twisted reasoning.”
Where did the term pretzel logic come from?
A classic pretzel is circular, full of holes, and twists in on itself—just like faulty reasoning. Hence the (delicious) expression, pretzel logic. The term is evidenced by at least 1967 in American Opinion, a magazine of the far-right, anticommunist John Birch Society.
Pretzel logic is used to describe inconsistent, illogical thinking that, once scrutinized, doesn’t stand up. It’s similar to the term illogic.
Indeed, the phrase pretzel logic frequently appears in political contexts, used in an effort to call out opponents’ logical fallacies or to characterize someone’s twisted line of reasoning or justifications.
The term spread in the 1980–90s, but it is closely associated with the acclaimed 1974 album and title track Pretzel Logic by rock band Steely Dan. The song is, apparently, about reckoning with the passage of time.
How to use the term pretzel logic
Arguments that are convoluted or seen as such are popularly characterized as pretzel logic, especially in political contexts.
Puns abound around pretzel logic, especially in food contexts, and the phrase has been used for grabby headlines.
I am starting a movement to say the same lie over and over until it is believed as truth. Rudy said, and I quote”There is no truth”. And he appears to be an intelligent person. So “There is no truth” is my mantra until it becomes truth. LOL pretzel logic with an evil twist.
— charles (@charles15422075) March 18, 2019
Additionally, searches for pretzel logic quickly lead to all things Steely Dan.
I think the first I actually went out to a record store to buy with my own money was Steely Dan's "Pretzel Logic". ?1974
— 𝔸𝕟𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕟𝕪 𝕄𝕒𝕣𝕜𝕤 🇪🇺 🤝 🇫🇷 🤝 🇬🇧 (@theboymarks) March 11, 2019
More examples of pretzel logic:
“Claiming a dessert didn’t exist until it had a published recipe to validate it is pretzel logic.”
—Keys Weekly, February 2019
Note
This content is not meant to be a formal definition of this term. Rather, it is an informal summary that seeks to provide supplemental information and context important to know or keep in mind about the term’s history, meaning, and usage.
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