Katie in Tallahassee, Florida, saw a friend cooking with what she called a Scottish spurtle, a kitchen utensil that looks like a wooden dowel with a knob on the end, used to stir hot cereals and rice. Soon after, her husband saw an infomercial on YouTube for an Amish spurtle, which was also made of wood, but was flatter and slightly curved. What’s the origin of spurtle, and why does the same word apply to different kinds of utensils? In Scotland, a dowel-shaped spurtle is also called a thivel, a flat one is called a couthie spurtle. The origin of spurtle is unclear. It may be related to other “flat”-related words spatula and spade, but it might be formed by metathesis from an Old Norse word that also gives us sprit, meaning “stick,” as in the bowsprit of a boat. Serious Scottish spurtle fans gather each year for the Golden Spurtle World Porridge Making Championship. This is part of a complete episode.