Short Stuff: Tails, Bugs and Flagons

The following items would like to thank the longer column that has graciously given up its space on their behalf.

* Americans are always surprised by the huge tails on Middle Eastern sheep, which were bred for their tail fat. Here’s what’s even more surprising: There were fat-tailed sheep in this country 200 years ago. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were among the experimental-minded Southern farmers who raised sheep from Tunisian stock. The reason there aren’t any American fat-tails today is that the Southern flocks died out during the Civil War.

* The only insects the Bible condones eating are beetles, grasshoppers and two kinds of locust. FYI, female locusts full of eggs are said to be tastier than male locusts. Locust fanciers have compared their flavor to boiled egg yolks and to fried baby fish stuffed with buttered toast.

* Vessels that TV’s Frasier Crane probably makes a point of using:

“Flagon” comes from flacon, the medieval French form of the word “flask” (French has been very careless with its s’s). Both words go back to a Germanic root meaning “to weave,” because the original meaning was a vessel with a wicker covering, like the old-fashioned Chianti bottle, or fiasco.

“Cruet” is a French diminutive of the word “crock,” so it basically means “a small crock.” Yes, “That’s a cruet” means “That’s a small crock.”