soup
bouillon
broth
chowder
consomme
porridge
stew
stock
most useful as a generic term, sophism as a reference to specific examples: campaign oratory filled with sophistry; a statement on taxes that was a sophism pure and simple.
Casuistry has a Christian theological rather than classical Greek background; it refers to the science or doctrine of ambiguous cases of conscience, involving questions of moral right and wrong. The reasoning involved in this sort of argument was often so subtle and complicated that the word has come to be used with the same pejorative tone that sophistry has acquired. It still applies, however, particularly to disputes about ethics or morals: a governor who has abandoned the casuistry surrounding arguments over capital punishment. Hair-splitting is more specific than these other words in applying to any sort of argumentative discourse in which finicky or petty attention is given to fine points of method or substance in such a way as to lose sight of more significant questions: descending to hair-splitting about side issues whenever his opponent managed to present a convincing statement on the main issue. See CONTROVERSY, DECEPTION.
These nouns denote either liquid food or food having a liquid base. Soup is the most general and most inclusive word. It is made by boiling meat, vegetables, or a combination of ingredients in water. Soup may be purely liquid whether thick, or thin and clear — or it may consist of bits of solid food in liquid: tomato soup; chicken soup; vegetable soup.
Liquid that has had meat, fish, or vegetables boiled in it is called stock or broth. Stock stresses that the liquid is a by-product or an ingredient, not a food in itself: to strain beef stock; to skim off fat from chicken stock. Stock may be used as a base in making soups, sauces, or gravies. Beef stock, for example, is often an ingredient in canned vegetable soup; vegetable stock is often used as a liquid base for homemade soups. When stock is prepared as a separate liquid food — whether for use as a thin, strained soup, a packing fluid, or a fluid base — it is called broth. Beef broth may be made by boiling marrow bones, beef shin, vegetables, and seasonings together, then skimming and straining the stock', a soup of noodles and ground beef in beef broth; a can of boned turkey with broth. Stock used to make broth is sometimes, but not always, clarified: a chicken soup recipe calling for two cans of clear chicken broth.
Bouillon is a clear broth made by boiling and simmering lean beef, chicken, or other meats, then straining and clarifying the stock. Such stock may be dehydrated and sold in the form of bouillon cubes that are reconstituted by being dissolved in hot water. Consomme is a clear, strong, concentrated soup of meat or meat stock (and sometimes vegetables) boiled, strained, and seasoned: beef consomme; chicken consomme. Consomme is richer and more nutritious than bouillon or broth. It may be served hot, as a clear liquid; or, if it contains gelatin, it may be refrigerated, jelled, and served cold.
Where stock, broth, bouillon, and consomme are purely liquid, the remaining dishes consist of food cooked in liquid. Stew is a preparation of meat or fish and various vegetables simmered together gently in water or milk. Beef stew may contain small chunks of beef and diced vegetables in beef broth. Oyster stew may contain oysters, oyster broth, butter, cream, and whole milk. Chowder is a thick soup often made with milk. It usually consists of clams, fish, or corn stewed with potatoes and onions, often bacon, and sometimes other vegetables: clam chowder; corn chowder; fish chowder made with halibut fillets and fish broth. Porridge is a
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soft food made by boiling oatmeal or other meal in water or milk until it thickens. This word is used chiefly in Great Britain. It may also denote a thick broth or stew of vegetables with or without meat.
These words refer to sharp tastes or smells or to harsh dispositions and behavior stemming from them. When used of tastes, sour refers to the characteristic sharpness produced by acids. Acid itself refers more directly to such a taste. Acidulous indicates a taste that is partially acid or mildly sour. Tart refers to a sharp taste that is pleasantly acid or piquant in taste. Acrid pertains to any strong or sharp smell, but can also apply to sharp tastes produced either by acids or alkalies. Bitter is restricted to sharp tastes produced mainly by alkalis, but can also apply to strong unpleasant smells as well. If the bitter taste or smell is mild it might be regarded as savory or pleasant; if quite strong it might become wry or unpleasant, or be capable of lingering on, causing discomfort. Caustic suggests a sharp smell such as a strong alkali might give off; it can be used of tastes only as a hyperbole, since it also refers quite literally to alkalinity intense enough to eat away or corrode organic tissues.
On their most literal level, thus, these words are fairly clear in their neutrally descriptive distinctions from one another. In describing harsh disposition or behavior, however, their shadings of meaning are rather more blurred. Sour applies almost solely to mood or disposition, suggesting a pessimistic, disenchanted, or excessively solemn attitude: always wearing a sour expression that no pleasantry could soften; recalling her former naive idealism with a sour smile; having to confront the sour face of the superintendent. Bitter suggests an even fiercer gloominess that arises from a sense of having been unjustly treated or from a deepseated anger that smolders without catching fire: a bitter man who saw nothing worthy of admiration no matter where he looked; bitter accusations concerning the unfair division of money between them. Tart applies more appropriately to particular instances of behavior and gives a different tone altogether; it suggests impertinence or sassiness: giving a tart answer to the teacher’s scolding. Acid and acidulous are difficult to distinguish except for the greater formality of the latter; acidulous might sometimes suggest an abiding mood and acid an actual expression: an acidulous temper; an acid remark. In any case, acid seems considerably stronger in its suggestions of harsh or gratuitous hostility: Bitter at his own lack of success as a playwright, the critic was negative and acid in all his comments.
Acrid and caustic are the most intense of these words in pointing to harsh dispositions or expressions. Acrid applies best to mood: an acrid curtness of manner. It can also apply, however, to expressions: an acrid scowl disfiguring his face. Caustic perhaps suggests an even fiercer hostility than acrid, since it carries over here its implication of corrosive power: often filled with a caustic rage; caustic aspersions on his friend’s abilities; answers so caustic as to hint at some imbalance of mind. See
SARCASTIC, SAVORY, VINDICTIVE.
Antonyms: bland , kind, optimistic , sweet.
These words refer to wavering coruscations of light, whether reflected from a moving surface or emitted unsteadily by the source of light itself. Sparkling would seem to suggest the throwing off of sparks, but as now used it is almost exclusively restricted to uneven, bright flashes reflected from light-catching objects: sparkling diamonds. Glittering is close to
sour
acid
acidulous
acrid
bitter
caustic
tart
sparkling
flashing
flickering
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