Talking Turkey

My husband asked me if I was going to blogviate today. As so often happens when we're speaking, I had no idea what he was talking about. Let me explain. My husband, whom I love dearly, likes to coin his own words. He patiently explained to me that blogviate was his version of "bloviate"; which didn't help me at all. So I looked up bloviate in the dictionary that is my constant companion since marrying this unique guy so long ago. Playing Scrabble with him is a real treat, but that's a whole different blog. Surprisingly, my New World Dictionary Of The American Language (2nd. college edition) did not list bloviate. So I turned to the Internet. 

Bloviate: (according to Wikipedia)

"To bloviate means "to speak pompously and excessively" or "to expound ridiculously". A colloquial verb coined in the United States, it is commonly used with contempt to describe the behavior of politicians, academics, pundits or media "experts," sometimes called bloviators, who hold forth on subjects in an arrogant, tiresome way.

The current verb 'bloviate' seems to be regarded as a back-formation from the noun blowhard.
The Oxford English Dictionary indicates that bloviate derives from adding a faux-Latin ending to the verb 'to blow' or boast, following a 19th-century fad of adding Latin-like affixes to ordinary words. However, others like William Safire claim that 'bloviate' comes from combining the words 'blow-hard' and 'deviation.'

Although 'bloviate' is listed in slang dictionaries as far back as the 19th century, the term was popularized by United States President Warren G. Harding in the 1920s. Famed for his poor English usage, Harding often used the word to describe his own speaking style. The term dropped from popular usage following his presidency but was resurrected in the 1960s when it was sometimes used in reference to Harding.

It became widely spoken again in the 1990s. Today, it appears regularly in The New York Times, The New Yorker and The Washington Post.

The term is used frequently by Fox News commentator, Bill O'Reilly whose show, The O'Reilly Factor, concludes with requests for email. The request for feedback sometimes includes: "And please when writing to us no bloviating, [that's] my job."

'Bloviating' has taken on new life in the blogosphere, used derisively to identify and otherwise chide the most pompous of contributors to message boards and forums."

Oh my - is that what I have been doing?? Bloviating on my blog? Does that make me a blogviator? Yes, my beloved assured me - although not as much as some. He said he was just giving it to me straight, "talking turkey". Which reminded me of the following recipe: 

Teriyaki Turkey Tenderloin (that's an alliteration by the way, which by telling you this makes me a bloviator or is it blogviator?...)

Two (2) Turkey breast tenderloins (about 1 1/2 pounds)

1/2 cup teriyaki sauce

1 teaspoon ground ginger (or a nub of fresh, sliced thin)

2 garlic cloves smashed

1/4 cup pineapple juice

Cut your tenderloins into 1 inch cubes. Toss with all above ingredients. Place in ziplock bag and marinade in refrigerator for at least 45 minutes and up to 4 hours. 

Preheat grill to high. Skewer turkey tenderloin cubes. Grill until done, about 12-15 minutes, giving quarter turns every 4 minutes and basting first 3 turns. Discard any unused marinade. 

I like to serve this with grilled pineapple rings (brush with butter and melted brown sugar) grill lightly) and simple steamed white rice. 

Enjoy and try not to bloviate with your mouth full.