Have you ever heard someone say something like this: “That store has everything from soup to nuts”? It might not surprise you to learn that this was the title of a Three Stooges movie. Before the 1930 Stooges movie, Laurel and Hardy starred in a movie titled “From Soup to Walnuts.” That story was about the two of them malfunctioning as butlers at a lavish gala. There was a clue to the meaning of the title in what they did.
It fascinates me to know that some outlandish things we say out of habit originated a long time ago in a human society that no longer exists. The term Soup to Nuts comes from a time of plenty. It can be a vulgar man’s description of a high-society full-course dinner, or it can be a modern portrait of a progressive dinner, one that begins with an aperitif (soup) and ends with sandwiches to accompany your appetizer or drink afterward. dinner (walnuts). Well, what people developed this need to define a sumptuous meal with a phrase?
It was the Romans! Wealthy Romans were famous for hosting dinners where they outdid (I think that’s a word) their friends by feeding their guests strangely unique, tasty, or interesting ways, and always with too much food. The term gluttony also comes from that society. Apparently, this overeating behavior was so prevalent that many in this society set up a special place in the back of their houses, something near the toilet, where guests who ate too much would regurgitate (vomit what they had eaten). – to be able to return to the table to eat some more! Personally, I think that last part is where the nuts in Soup to Nuts derive from.