Groceries stores in the U.S. are quite the experience, one Americans take for granted. We can buy anything in them – turkey breast, pork butt, spotted dick… Yes, I said spotted dick. Don’t stop reading now. You KNOW you want to know what I’m talking about!
Apparently, from the dust on these cans, Americans don’t eat much spotted dick. But the British do. It’s their concoction of pudding with currants (hence the term spotted), which is sold in a can.
But how did it get the name “dick”?
I asked my British friend Doris.
“Spotted dick,” explained the sweet old woman, pronouncing each word with ladylike clarity and no giggles, “means spotted dog.”
“Then why didn’t they just call the pudding spotted dog or cut out the dern reference altogether?” I asked.
“It is what it is,” she explained in that curt, British way. “Put a yellow sauce on it and it’s called treacle dick.” I didn’t even let my mind go there and neither should you.
I did a little digging on the Internet and found a lot of references for dick usage – a cop, an abbreviation for dictionary, a riding whip, an apron, and a penis – but not for pudding nor dog.
One source stated it might be the fault of those tricky British accents. You know, “pudding” becoming “puddink,” then “puddick,” and finally just “dick.”
Heck, I’m just tickled they sell it at my local grocery store!
