Word of the Day

Tuesday, March 18, 2003

trencherman

\TREN-chuhr-muhn\ , noun;

A hearty eater.

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Quotes:

Quietly, almost stealthily, Livingstone has transformed himself . . . into a knowing gourmand-about-town, whose commitment to lunch is only rivalled by that other fabulous trencherman, Fatty Soames.

-- Catherine Bennett, "Vote Ken, vote polenta", The Guardian, March 9, 2000

Expecting that the experience would be too exciting for him to find time to eat, we were amazed to watch him consume a trencherman's breakfast, scarfing down French toast like it was going out of style.

-- Sheila Rothenberg, "Disney Bridges the Generation Gap", USA Today, March, 2001

In the space of the last five years, he fearlessly gained 40 pounds, displaying a trencherman's appetite for life and an admirable disdain for cardiologists and Surgeon Generals whining about moderation.

-- Martin Lewis, "Comb Back, Big Hair - All Is Forgiven", Time, December 23, 2000

Origin:

Trencherman is from trencher, "a wooden board or platter on which food is served or carved" (from Medieval French trencheoir, from Old French trenchier, "to cut," from Latin truncare, "to lop off, to shorten by cutting") + man. It is related to trench, "a hole cut into the ground."