Nuts – #AtoZchallenge

A quick one, because it’s been a nutty day and I’m mentally exhausted.

I started thinking of this blog when I put some pecans (best nut in the world) on my lunchtime salad.

A couple of random things about nuts that popped into my head while I grazed.

Peanuts
The peanut is a legume, which I think makes it not a nut. Whatever, I don’t really care. The plain ol’ goober pea is my second favorite nut. I’ve never taken a liking to them boiled; tasty, but slimy. I also have a recording of the song “Goober Peas” on one of my Civil War music CDs from the 2nd South Carolina String Band (they’re fantastic, playing and singing period songs on period instruments). “Peas, peas, peas, eating goober peas: goodness how delicious, eating goober peas.” Roasted in the shell. Salted. Unsalted. Dry roasted. Trader Joe’s salted blistered ball park nuts. Covered with a variety of spices. Those weird Boston Baked Beans. In a Snickers or Payday. All nummy.

Then there’s the comic strip, which never gets old. Peanut-head. Peanut the cat. Peanut butter. Nutter butters. And, of course, PeanutButterJellyTime — the best GIF ever.

The Pecan
My favorite nut is the pecan. That’d be: pea-con or pcahn (if you say it fast). Not: p-can. Damn Yankees. Meme and Pawpan had a pecan tree in their lot next door. We’d pick up more than we could eat. Used to love cracking them with some nut cracker contraption that you’d pull back and it would slam into the pecan. It’s MUCH easier to buy them shelled, because picking out all the bits and pieces of shell and whatever that bitter crap in the middle is is tedious as hell. More reward and less mess than crabs, but you still almost always end up biting into a shell fragment at some point. Roasted with a little salt = delicious. Might be doing some up over the weekend.

Nucking Futs
Because it’s cussing kinda without cussing. Jeez, I don’t cuss all the fucking time! You can also usually get away with this one in the business world if you quickly move on to your point.

Neuticles
I get it for testicular cancer patients – especially if you’re down to (YIKES!) none. Though I’d think a none-neutered related name would be nice. But buying fake nuts for you dog? Man, I really have a hard time thinking of a more wasteful way to spend money. Yes, it’s VERY weird to watch your dog’s sack slowly disappear, but, been my experience they’ll lick any damn thing anyway, so . . .

NUTS!
Best response to a request for a surrender ever. Battle of the Bulge. Elements of the 101st Airborne and other units were surrounded in Bastogne, a crossroads down the Germans needed to be able to move their armor through the Argonne Forest. “Nuts” was General McAuliffe’s reply to the German commander’s surrender ultimatum. The Americans held the town until relieved by Patton’s 3rd Army, in one of warfare’s great maneuvers.

3 at Random — Because the rest weren’t
Never have been a fan of the Nutcracker.

That dude’s nuts. Huh, wonder what the etymology of that is. And why are we insulting the good ol’ nut when calling someone crazy as a loon. Hmmm, why are we insulting loons?

The Nutty Professor. It’s no 48 Hours or Trading Places, but it’s a pretty good Eddie Murphy movie.