March 31, 2005

*Ask Jen: The Jim's-Forcing-Me-to-Blog Version

Jim asks: "Where the hell does 'cream of the crop' come from? What crop yields cream in any quantity? Are we talking about harvesting cows here?"

Creamed corn. Cream of Wheat. You're not trying very hard.

Anywho, when you milk a cow and let the milk stand, the cream rises to the top. The cream is (supposedly) the best part of the milk. If you've ever watched* Emma, you know that the best part of the riddle she and Miss Smith read is the punchline...which Emma refers to as "the cream". The cream of the crop is simply the best of the crop.

* Any Jane Austen fans out there who can tell us if it's in the book, as well? I can't find mine and don't remember.

Posted by Jennifer at March 31, 2005 06:02 PM

Comments

Jane Austen eh? No, I don't think my man boobs have gotten large enough for me to start reading her books. Or maybe the hormones haven't started kicking in yet.

Posted by: Oorgo at March 31, 2005 06:30 PM

Hey, did you know that up to 1/3 of man boobs can lactate? No joke!

That single fact is really turning a challenge into an opportunity for me.

Posted by: Jim at March 31, 2005 09:11 PM

Yay! to Jim for forcing Jen to blog!

Posted by: Daniel at April 1, 2005 07:35 AM

Last summer I tried to grow some cream of wheat, I think I over watered it because it got all mushy . My lobster salad idea diddn't work to well either.

Posted by: runemonger at April 1, 2005 08:08 AM

The line "Now for the cream" is in the text of Emma.
If you want to see the context, get the Project Gutenberg text and search it.

Posted by: Rance at April 1, 2005 01:14 PM

Thanks, Rance!

Posted by: Jennifer at April 2, 2005 10:49 PM


Jew