A listener who grew up in Newfoundland remembers her grandfather declaring the fog was thick as burgoo. Turns out burgoo was sailors’ slang for a gray, gelatinous oatmeal—exactly the right image for an impenetrable Newfoundland fog. The word appears in the Dictionary of Canadianisms on Historical Principles, though it likely came from England and Scotland. Meanwhile, in Kentucky, burgoo means something entirely different: a thick, meaty outdoor stew made from whatever’s on hand, a staple of Derby Week in Louisville, Kentucky. This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of “Burgoo Porridge, Burgoo Stew”
Hello,
You
Have
A
Way
With
Words.
Hi,
Good
Afternoon.
My
Name
Is
Catherine.
I’m
Calling
From
Ontario
In
Canada,
But
My
Question
Is
About
A
Phrase
That
I
Heard
When
I
Was
Growing
Up
In
Newfoundland.
So
It
It
Would
Have
Been
Around
Nineteen
Seventy
Four
And
My
Grandfather
Would
Come
In
From
Outside
And
He
Would
Say
The
Fog
Is
Thick
As
Burgoo
Out
There
And
I
Would
Say,
Popo,
What
Is
Burgoo?
And
He
Would
Just
Laugh.
And
I
Have
Never
Heard
Anybody
Else
Saying
The
Fog
Is
Thick
As
Burgoo.
So
We’re
Talking
You
Can’t
See
Your
Hand
In
Front
Of
Your
Face
Kind
Of
Thick.
Exactly.
Exactly..
Yeah
Just
R
Really
Thick
And
I’ve
Never
Heard
Anybody
Else
In
The
Family
Use
It,
But
I
Don’t
Know
What
Burgoo
Is.
Yeah,
It’s
As
Thick
As
Oatmeal
Porridge
Actually.
Burgoo
Was
A
Name
That
Was
Applied
By
Eighteenth
Century
Sailors
To
Sort
Of
That
Gray
Sludge
Of
Oatmeal
That
They
Would
Eat.
You
Know,
Oats
Boiled
In
Seawater,
Maybe
A
Smear
Of
Salt
Fat
Or
Something
Like
That.
And
So
If
They
Were
Talking
About
Fog
That
Was
Really,
Really
Thick,
Yeah,
They
Would
Say
It
Was
Thick
As
Burgoo.
Wow,
I’ve
Never
Heard
Porridge
Called
Burgoo,
But
It
It
Makes
Sense.
Well
It’s
Very
Much
A
Canadianism
Though.
Yeah,
And
What’s
Really
Weird
Is
Is
As
A
Native
Kentuckian
I
Have
To
Mention
That
Burgoo
In
Kentucky
Is
Very
Very
Popular,
But
It’s
Not
Oatmeal
Or
Porridge,
It’s
A
Thick
Soup
Or
Stew
That’s
Made
With
Whatever
Meat
You
Have
Around
Beef,
Venison,
Porks,
Even
Squirrel,
And
Vegetables.
It’s
Usually
Cooked
Outdoors.
And
If
You
Can’t
Stand
Up
A
Spoon
In
It,
If
If
You
Put
The
Spoon
In
And
It
Falls
Over,
Then
That
Burgoo
Is
Not
Ready.
And
It’s
Super
Popular
In
Kentucky
And
Part
Of
Illinois
And
Especially
Derby
Week
In
In
Louisville.
Yeah,
I’m
Seeing
Here,
Martha,
That
That
Burgoo
Definition
As
Oatmeal
Is
Actually
Kind
Of
Old
Fashioned
And
Many
People
In
Canada
Use
It
In
The
Way
That
You’ve
Just
Described
It,
Which
Is
It’s
Whatever
You
Have
On
Hand
Put
Into
A
Stew.
Mm—
Mm—
Yeah,
And
We’re
Not
Sure
Of
The
Origin
Of
Burgu.
There’s
A
Good
Chance
That
Sailors
Picked
It
Up
From
Similar
Sounding
Arabic
Or
Persian
Words
For
Bulgur,
You
Know,
That
Kind
Of
Wheat
That
Is
In
Taboule,
But
We’re
Not
Sure
About
The
Origin.
Oh
That’s
Interesting.
Yeah.
Well
He
M
He
He
Was
A
Fisherman,
So
He
Might
Have
Picked
It
Up
That
Way,
Right?
Yeah.
Oh
That’s
Interesting.
Thank
You
So
Much
For
Explaining.
Sure
Thing.
And
That’s
B
U
R
G
O
O.
I
Assume
That’s
How
Your
Family
Knew
It.
That’s
How
I’ve
Always
Assumed
It
Was
Spelt,
But
Like
I
Say
I’ve
Never
I’ve
Cer
I’ve
Never
Seen
It
Written
Down,
So
Outstanding.
Well
Thank
You
So
Much
And
You
Take
Care.
Thank
You
Very
Much.
Bye
Bye.
Bye
Bye.
Bye.
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