Do you know the word lagniappe? It’s an American French (think Louisiana) word. From my perusal of dictionary definitions it refers to a bonus “something” given to a customer when they are making a purchase. It’s now used in broader terms and refers to any unexpected bonus that comes with something else.
I’m glad I looked it up! I’ve liked the sound of the word since first hearing it and sometimes it’s just floating around up there in my head for no reason. But now I realize that my understanding of the definition as simply “an unexpected gift” was somewhat incorrect.
On Thursday afternoon, J.B. headed out with the sanctuary truck to pick up the weekly produce, which was much needed because the fridges were looking quite bare with the glowing exception of a particular fruit that I believe Anthony will be writing about tomorrow.
I want to say that the filling up of our fruit fridge was a lagniappe, but that would be using that unique word incorrectly – it was just a wonderful and unexpected gift.
I digress.
In the middle of a zoom call after J.B. had left to get produce, I got a call from him on my phone. I decided I should answer it because it was strange that he was calling me just 20 minutes after leaving. I rudely existed the view of my computer camera with no explanation and took his call. Indeed, my intuition was correct. The truck had an issue and he was parked on the side of the highway. There would be no produce run that day.
Instead, after the truck was towed and I picked up J.B., he made a quick jaunt to the local grocery store to hold the chimps’ over until the truck was fixed and he could do the full produce run this afternoon.
To my surprise, one of the produce items he brought back was corn. Corn! In February! This was indeed a lagniappe. Oh wait, no – that’s using the word incorrectly again.
Nevertheless, the chimpanzees were delighted with this unexpected gift:
Negra:
Missy:
Jody got two ears because Jamie was at first very focused on the mini sweet peppers at lunch, putting her ear of corn down near the watchful eyes of Jody. Jamie was okay with Jody taking it, but decided later she did in fact want some (maybe the sounds of all of the delightful crunching by her friends made her change her mind). If you are on Instagram, go to our page to see a little video clip of Jody crunching her double lagniappe gift.
Everything worked out in the end because Foxie rejected her corn full stop. So, I gave Jamie Foxie’s ear of corn and I gave Foxie Jamie’s carrot.
Whew!
Jamie took her corn up to the top window for some private dining.
Honey B, Mave, and Willy B got their corn for dinner and it was very much appreciated by all three of them. Here’s Honey B:
Thank you for all of you Produce Patrons out there who help provide the chimpanzees with much loved and unexpected gifts of fresh fruits and vegetables!
Side note – if anyone knows of a word that actually means “unexpected gift”, I would like to know! I might send you something as a thank you for your linguistic prowess.
Awesome blog. I Loved it. I guess it seemed like an incovenient event but I guess you could see it as a blessing. Hugs to you all.?
For sure – the truck breaking down was inconvenient but produced many a sircee :).
A sirsee is an unexpected gift.
I am very happy to have learned this new word!
I think that sirsee is the clear winner here! Thank you, Stacey!
I heard it often growing up. I don’t use the word anymore but my grandmother did.
Corn crunches! I can just hear the smacking—delightful! How’s “serendipity” for an unexpected gift? Thanks, Diana, for your very visual sharing of the fun!
“Serendipitous” came to my mind, too!
“Serendipitous ” came to my mind, too
I do think that you finding out about the sanctuary was serendipity!
Diana, I completely agree! Such a blessing to have all of you in my life.
Diana, the closest I could come; and it’s not 1/10th as cool as your word-is aleatory. All I want is to just see these beautiful souls every day and I guess if I could have just one wish it would be to hold/play with a baby chimp or Orangutan! I wonder if the babies have “baby breath” like puppy breath!
Another word I’ve seen but I don’t think I really knew the definition of before. Thank you!
In Russian the root noun dar (???) means “free.”
From that we get “padarok” (???????) which means “gift,” and also “daree” (???? which is the plural “gifts”) and which usually has a more special meaning such as “gifts from God.”
So the word for “free” in embedded in the word for “gift,” sort of like “freebie” in English. I’m sure this isn’t quite the meaning you’re looking for, but Russian is a language literally full of poetry, and I’m not a native speaker. I’m sure a native speaker could do much better!
So sorry, can’t get the Cyrillic to print on this blog!
I know nothing about the Russian language, but now I want to learn more. Thank you, Betsy!
Hi Diana,
In my native laguage, Dutch, we use the word “surprise”. December 5th we cellebrate Sint Nicolaas, ( who made it to your country as Sante Claus..) and surprise each other with a onexpected gift and a poem ( tongue in cheek that is ).
Of course we pronounce it “surpreeseh” from the French word.
It’s so fun to learn about different meanings and uses for words. Thank you!
That was so fun to read. There is always some light at the end of the tunnel and you all found it.
The chimps were happy for sure and all is well. Great blog. Made my morning with a smile on my
face. So fun – loved the pictures. Thank you.
Hi, Diana!
It’s funny, because I’ve had to look this word up before, too!
Friends visiting from Peru were shopping with me downtown. We were in a touristy gift shop run by a man who’s an immigrant from China. We were speaking Spanish, and my friend’s sister wondered out loud if the owner gave “llapa”. Since I hadn’t been to Peru yet, they had to explain what that little bonus was, as it’s not terribly common here in the States. Imagine our surprise when, as she paid for her purchases, he gave them each a tchotchke from near the register! 😀
And yes, when I made it to Peru, I did have someone give me a llapa for purchasing a couple of things from his stall. But I came across the word in a story not connected to South America, and had to look up its origins (believe it or not, I think it’s Italian).
Whatever it’s called, that unexpected bounty made Neggie happy! And whoever is food peering over Jo’s shoulder in the IG video.
Corn in February! Just the carbs the body wants when it’s cold!
Ah! I didn’t know that there was a similar word used in Peru. Thanks!
Sweet corn for my sweet friends! Wow! What a treat for the end of February, and yes, what an unexpected gift. I hope the truck is an easy and inexpensive fix for you. Anthony always mentions how some of the items on the CSNW Amazon Wish List aren’t fun or snuggly but instead just hard core, everyday needs. Maybe you need a special Wish List for your motorized needs like your vehicles, electronic doors, etc. : )
Your post was an insightful peek into all the necessary moving parts needed to keep the chimps (and bovines) happy, healthy, and well fed… maybe not an unexpected gift to me (but I will say your posts are a gift) but an unexpected surprise that made me all the more grateful for everything little thing you do.
Stunning tribute. Is a synonym of unexpected gift.
Tribute is an interesting word too!
Word for “unexpected gift” comes from the South of US is Sircee.
I was wondering if they eat the corn raw or do you first cook the cobs for them? They sure love their veg!
I think it’s raw…and they sometimes shuck it themselves
Hi Caroline,
Sometimes we lightly boil the corn, but most often it’s raw. They like it either way!