Nach gängiger Folklore kommt der Name „Wahlster“ von „Wahlschieder“ – und Wahlschied, wie ja jeder weiß, liegt nördlich von Saarbrücken. Also wäre es nicht verkehrt, davon auszugehen, daß es die meisten Wahlster im Saarland gibt. Ist auch so, sagt verwandt.de in seiner Absoluten Namensverteilung für “Wahlster”. Kann man für jeden Namen ausprobieren.

During the 80s, the Australian Tourist Commission had an enormously successful campaign here in the U.S., featuring Paul Hogan inviting viewers to visit Oz with the words “I’ll slip an extra shrimp on the barbie for you.” Notwithstanding the fact that Australians would most likely have thrown a “prawn” on the barbecue, hereabouts where I live now, “barbecue” has really a different meaning.

Just recently, we had a visitor, an Australian friend who now lives in Sweden. To introduce her to the culinary highlights of the area, we went to Lonnie Ray’s Cafe and BBQ in Harrisburg (population 180), about 25 miles north of here, where she found out that our kind of barbecue has very little to do with the Australian barbie Paul Hogan invoked in his campaign.

A Southern style barbecue, in its most basic definition, is pork cooked over a low, smoky fire to the point where it can be pulled apart by hand, a process that can take hours. The variations are sauces, rubs, cuts, woods, toppings, and serving style. When we lived in Virginia, beef would never have come into the equation, but the proximity to Kansas City makes a difference here. Also important are the side dishes to complement good barbecue. Opinions probably vary, but I personally think coleslaw, hush puppies, potato salad, collard greens, and green beans with bacon & onions should be offered. You can top it off in style with a glass of sweet iced tea.

Therefore, when it comes to translating “barbecue,” remember that in the South it is foremost barbecued food and mainly pulled pork, as in “he eats barbecue.” By contrast, the portable fireplace, over which meat and fish are roasted, is called a “grill.”

As long as we are talking about Blue, Black, Yellow, Red there is really no problem and most people can more or less agree what they look like. But what about Wewak (#F19BAB) or Ziggurat (#BFDBE2)? Any idea what part of the spectrum Loblolly (#BDC9CE) or Anakiwa (#9DE5FF) fall into?

One thing is certain: poetic names they are. Years ago, when Urban Decay started to sell cosmetics with unusual color designations, I thought that Soot, Smog, Roach, Spare Change, and Crash were pretty cool. But check out Name That Color, and color names like Loafer (#EEF4DE), Desert Storm (#F8F8F7), and Jet Stream (#B5D2CE) abound.