Prison Yolk
J J Levin
the way):
The setting: the protagonist, Danny, was eating 2 boiled eggs for breakfast
and was interrupted repeatedly by the phone.
Then follows:
"Danny looked down at a prison yolk. 'Molly, could you boil me another
couple of eggs?'. "
What is "prison yolk" ??
Thanks,
Jay
Peter Duncanson (BrE)
The "yolk" is the yellow part of an egg.
I assume that a "prison yolk" is a yolk in a cooked egg that has gone cold and
hard, the way it might be in an egg served in a prison. In a prison there
might be no attempt to supply the prisoners with freshly cooked food.
--
Peter Duncanson, UK
(in alt.english.usage)
J J Levin
"Peter Duncanson (BrE)" <ma...@peterduncanson.net> wrote in message
news:73g1m4h37fojpusue...@4ax.com...
Makes sense. Many thanks!
Jay
Patok
>
It makes no sense at all, therefore is probably the correct
explanation. :)
It makes no sense because cooked egg yolk does not change its
consistency depending on temperature; if runny, it stays runny; if hard,
it stays hard. (Unless they have special eggs in England that /do/
change when cold.) Rather, if the egg was not as expected, I'd guess it
was mis-cooked to begin with.
This has a cognate in the Eastern European term "bishop's egg" (or
"bishop's yolk") which means an egg boiled so that the yolk is no longer
runny, (you can't dip into it) but not yet hard (does not crumble when
bitten into or spooned). The term applies to the preparedness of the egg
regardless of its temperature. The reason for the term is that
presumably the Orthodox bishops cannot eat their eggs hard-boiled
(that's how Jews eat them, therefore a big no-no), but cannot risk yolk
dripping all over their beards either; the eggs have to be in a state
just between the two.
--
You'd be crazy to e-mail me with the crazy. But leave the div alone.
Robin Bignall
wrote:
"Hard boiled" is probably the right answer. As has been mentioned,
there's little interest in providing a hotel service in prison, so the
eggs come having been well boiled. "Unsentimental and practical;
tough" is one of the meanings for "hard boiled", and it could also
describe lots of the prison inmates.
--
Robin
(BrE)
Herts, England
sal...@gmail.com
> From Jeffrey Archer's new book, PRISONER OF BIRTH (a wonderful thriller, by
> the way):
>
> The setting: the protagonist, Danny, was eating 2 boiled eggs for breakfast
> and was interrupted repeatedly by the phone.
>
> Then follows:
>
> "Danny looked down at a prison yolk. 'Molly, could you boil me another
> couple of eggs?'. "
>
Peter Duncanson [BrE]
cooked and then left for a long time. It will have hardened and dried.
The idea is that in an institution such as a prison there is no
incentive for those cooking and serving food to prisoners to give them
food that is in the best possible condition. Prisoners cannot return
food that they don't like and get a replacement. They have to take what
they are given.
abc
> On Tue, 2 Jul 2013 12:52:35 -0700 (PDT), sal...@gmail.com wrote:
>
>> On Sunday, January 4, 2009 8:50:38 AM UTC-5, J J Levin wrote:
>>> From Jeffrey Archer's new book, PRISONER OF BIRTH (a wonderful thriller, by
>>> the way):
>>>
>>> The setting: the protagonist, Danny, was eating 2 boiled eggs for breakfast
>>> and was interrupted repeatedly by the phone.
>>>
>>> Then follows:
>>>
>>> "Danny looked down at a prison yolk. 'Molly, could you boil me another
>>> couple of eggs?'. "
>>>
>> Don't know the answer but am reading this querry because I just read the passage quoted above and had the same question.
>>>
>>>
>>> What is "prison yolk" ??
>>>
>>> Thanks,
>>>
>>> Jay
>
> This is a guess: A "prison yolk" is the yolk of an egg that has been
> cooked and then left for a long time. It will have hardened and dried.
that point in the book if memory serves. The hardened yolk would remind
him of his prison breakfasts.
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