Etymologists take a gingerly approach to assigning any particular origins to this word. While it might have come from the name of the spice, there’s nothing concrete to back up that idea. Another conjecture is that it’s related to an Old French word, ‘gensor,’ that meant ‘delicate.’ That’s because in 16th century English an earlier sense of ‘gingerly’ often referred to dancing or walking with dainty steps. Not till the 17th century did it change to apply to movements that were cautious in order to avoid being noisy or causing injury, and to a wary manner in handling or presenting ideas. Not too surprisingly, given its ‘-ly’ ending, ‘gingerly’ is also quite often correctly used as an adverb. One could thus say that ‘Simon gingerly twisted the cap.’
Tag: food
In Medieval times, the peasants sometimes could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special. When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off. It was a sign of wealth that a man ‘could bring home the bacon.’ They would cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and “chew the fat.”
It has been pointed out that this is not the right origin for this phrase.
(as stated on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chew_the_fat#Email_hoax)