The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-03-04
"WELSH IA REBlT."
what Wool Gathering Pedant Miscallesl
q Dish OF the Gods?

To THE EDITOR OF THE SUS-Sir: The
light that THE Sun recently shed on
Welsh rabbit in reply to ...r. IL. 2.
Guyton impels me to act the part OF
oliver and ask for more.
Years ago ! was Taught that, thanks to
the power Of ST. Patrick. snakes were
driven out OF Ireland. Now comes a
friend. whose name Is not "Tafy," who
-laims that ever since the descent OF the
black pagans, or Irish Danes, upon the
shores OF Wales such thing as "A
rabbit has been unknown in that country
and that the dish We know as "Wolsn
rabbit" was cOncocted ak'a substitute for
rabbit stew, II this be true, one can
better understand the name which, by
analogy. agrees with "pigby chicken"
Glasgow magistrate" and Munster
plums."
But who originated this form Welsh
rarebit"? Grose who publ.she his
views or Antiquities in England and
Wales between the years l773 and 1851
cited by one dictionary as recording
The term. but Grose was "A draughtsman
by prOft ssion, not a naturalist nor an
rpicure. II seems incredible that he
should have known the term and that
his contemporary Nathan Bailey should
nave faied 10 note II or any part OF IL
IN his dictionary. for, nota bene. Bailey
<nows not Welsh" rabbit or ''rareb l.
Bailey does not even know bit" as NOR
sam johnson IL as silent as an oyster on
the subject OF Welsh" and "rarebt,"
out tieats us to "A rare bit OF fun under
RABBIT: "A company OF scholars go ng
20 catch comics carried one with them
which had not much wit, and gave IN
,hsrge that II he saw any he should be
silent Tor fear OF soaring OF the m, but
1e no sooner spod a company of rabbits
nut he cried aloud, 'f.cce multi cunlcull
which he had no sooner said but the
comics ran TO their burrows: and he
being checked by them saw II and an.
S"'r'd VINO would have though, that
the rabbits understood Latfn""
But "rarebt," whence came To Can
be that the great Noah Webster. TIE
father OF American lexicography. origi
mated the term? Murray knows IL not.
and the first reference that | have found
occurs on page 1855 Of a d ct onary c3py
lghted by pr Webster in 1910 and BY
ieorse and Charles Merriam in lSi7. 1t
reads Nv elsh rabbit. n. tproperly Welsh
"0ro-btt.l Cheese melted into a mass and
usually spread over slices OF toasted
bread" The same story IL told in Web.
ter's Dictionary for 1859 and for 1869
worcester. under this influence, followed
SUIT IN 1899, and also told the world OF
ettets tina; the dish was properlya ",.r.
nt Following the course of "rarsI,'.
through the Websterian burrow, one find
nat IN 1879 as In 1890 and 1900 IN
erroneous statement "properly W.Isb
rarebt' II iterated and reit arated WIN n
pertlnacity worthy Of n better cause
IN ls94 pr, Funk's STANDARD Dc.
ionars announced that the form "r,re
NJ was erroneous but not untl Noye,,.
nor 1903. did the publishers OF Webstar's
View International awake to the fact ,ha,
'hcr editors had been misleading ~.
nnhllc FOR more than seventy years In
ire current edition Is the correction
sometimes enormously called rareht."
But this Is all aside from the main
question. Are there any rabbits in Wales
" c. Burrows.
CoNEY ISLAND, March 2.