Beef

Beef is meat obtained from a bovine. Beef is one of the principal meats used in European cuisine and cuisine of the Americas, and is important in Africa, East Asia, and Southeast Asia as well. In the Middle East, it is very rare to have lunch without beef.

Beef in the English Language

Beef occurs in various slang forms in American English that are unrelated to it being a type of meat, but perhaps more to the animal it comes from. Beef is used in a noun form in the phrase "to have (a) beef", the use of which dates back to the 19th Century, when "to beef" initially meant to loudly complain about something. The phrase means to have a feud or dispute with another party, usually an odious and publically known one. It was re-popularized by hip-hop music, especially the late Notorious B.I.G., who had a song entitled "What's Beef". Beef can also be used as the adjective "beefy" describing someone's weight, or rather their excess amount of it. However, a "beefcake" is a male considered desirable by women, due to his robust physique. This meaning relates back to an earlier meaning of "beefy" as a synonym for "muscular" or "well-built". Finally, "to beef up" has the same meaning as "to reinforce" or "to shore up", usually seen in connection with increasing numbers of soldiers, police, or other security measures in response to a perceived threat.

Related Topics:
American English - Feud - Dispute - Hip-hop - Notorious B.I.G. - Soldier - Police - Security

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The absence of beef also made a notable appearance in American pop culture. During the 1980's, Wendy's ran an ad campaign entitled "Where's the Beef?", in which patrons of non-Wendy's fast food restaurants examine the hamburgers and find the amount of beef lacking. The phrase became synonymous with anything lacking substance, not merely undersized patties in a hamburger.

Related Topics:
Pop culture - 1980 - Wendy's - Hamburger

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In British English, beef is far more established in colloquialisms, though many are vulgar. Beef also gets a more playful treatment from the British through Cockney Rhyming Slang; instead of saying "beef" one could say "stop thief" or "itchy teeth" to start the non-completed rhyme format. And, according to Cassell's Dictionary of Slang, there is a rhyming slang to describe the act of flatulation - "beef-heart".

Related Topics:
British English - Colloquialism - British - Cockney Rhyming Slang - Rhyme - Rhyming slang

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