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Slap up?

Posted by ESC on May 04, 2000

In Reply to: Slap up? posted by ESC on May 04, 2000

: : The UK newspaper The Guardian has a queries column which sometimes includes questions about phrase origins. There was one today that I couldn't resolve. 'Why slap up meals?'

: : Gary

: I've never heard that one. In the U.S., cooks "whip up meals." Then there's the expression that a dish is so good that it makes you want to "slap your mama."

And now that I've thought about it, we do say we are going to "slap something together" when a task is done in a hurry.

"British English A to Zed" (HarperCollins, New York, 1991)by Norman W. Schur says: "slap-up, adj. (informal) First rate, great, terrific. The British once used both slap-up and bang-up commonly; both would be considered old-fashioned now. A 'slap-up do' meant a 'bang-up job,' a first rate piece of work, and especially a splendid party with no expense spared."

Maybe there's an answer in there somewhere.

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