😁 A wee chuckle from Oxford Ref:
LIBERTY CABBAGE
During WWI any reference in the USA to things German was deemed unpatriotic, & this included foodstuffs. An alternative name had therefore to be found for sauerkraut, and the choice fell on liberty cabbage. The image appealed to was presumably of America as the land of the free, defending the liberty of the world against German tyranny. Similar inspirations were liberty sandwich for ‘hamburger sandwich’ [&] liberty measles for ‘German measles’.
That reminds me of how, 21 years ago, when France was questioning George W. Bush's plan to invade Iraq, there was a coordinated denunciation of France which culminated in Rush listeners and their ilk renaming french fries "freedom fries." This neologism even made it as far as the menu of a congressional cafeteria.
Yes, indeed! That stunt was well-known to Canadians. I mentioned the "freedom fries" incident in a piece reflecting on Jingoism last week... but somehow it's more frightening when you explicitly name it as having happened "21 years ago".
😬 I could have sworn it was yesterday!