Okay… Friday Fun Time: What do you call the last slice of bread? After a dispute with a friend, British actor Stephen Mangan asked his Twitter followers what they call the last slice – the very end – of a loaf of Bread. He was astonished by the feedback he got…
Yet another name for the very last piece of Bread in the Loaf…
File with: ‘Squirrel Bread’.
Mangan opened his thread with his own list of names that he’s heard people call the end of the loaf:
“So the end slice of a loaf is (according to you weirdos) – the knobby, knobby end, knob end, nobbly, knobbler, norbert, doormat, topper, nut end, noggie, noggin, ender, crust, butt, outsider, tush, doorstep, bumper, healie, nub, bum, bum end, knocker [all wrong] or heel [correct].”
One might think that would have settled it…
…But not Mangan’s Bread-loving followers…
Blitzen Fun Snowy asserted: “Yes, of course it’s the Heel, any other name is a nonsense.”
Several others spoke up in support of ‘Heel’, too.
Lisa Ward @LisaWardComms was either aghast or amused at the question, which was simple for her to answer: “Crust. It’s just a Crust.”
Even food maven Nigella Lawson got into the act, leveraging a continental reference: “Elbow on a baguette.”
Among the more interesting responses…
west indian princess @mvmi_kii, from Jamaica, said: “My family and I call it the Booty Bread and some of my friends call it the end pieces.” ‘Booty’ as in ‘shake your booty’? Careful your Jelly doesn’t fall off!
Chai Tea Jai @ attaboyteej shared a little slice of family history: “Grandpa called it “Whistle Bread” growing up. Convincing us it would help us whistle. Got us to eat it, did not, in fact, help us whistle.”
Zucchini @ZOOkiehne did likewise: “We have called it Squirrel Bread for years. No one in my family eats it and we throw it to the squirrels outside.”
And the best of bunch came from…
Magic @clair_sen, who confided: “My mum was engaged to a man before she met my dad. They broke off their engagement due to a huge row over this. She says it’s doorstep. If it wasn’t for that fact, I wouldn’t exist.”
For the record, I’ve always gone with ‘Heel’. My Mom’s people came from Scotland and Dad’s side came from the North of England, and they both subscribed to ‘Heel’. So, since this is my blog and I have the last word, I’m declaring ‘Heel’ the winner of the Stephen Mangan Bread Descriptor Sweepstakes. Alas, there is no prize.
For those seeking a Global Perspective on this issue, an exhaustive Reddit survey on the question can be found here…
~ Maggie J.