Very interesting. It's great that Sahil was able to get so close to a raven. Did you know that Henry VIII commissioned a song called "I'm Enery the Eighth"?:
Although I've been struggling today to find any reference to it, I had been brought up thinking that beefeater is bee+feater rather than beef+eater. I had no idea that that actual beef had been involved at all! Well, it turns out that I must have imagined the bee+feater thing entirely, because I can find literally NO reference to that term anywhere online. I consider myself duly re-educated, and have learned a great deal besides that from this great post! 😁
If ever I'm at the Tower of London again I shall ask a passing beefeater what he does for a living. Will he say 'I eat beef', or 'I feat bees'? I think the evidence both in your post and the link above points to the former being the case! 🤣
I've gone around in circles, but the most interesting reference I've found has been this: 'The name Beefeater is the corruption of Bueffetier (old french) Meaning food taster.'
Very informative. I always thought the term was a warning when England reigned supreme. Their soldiers were healthy and brawny. Maybe, but not from eating meat : )
Could be! Our Beefeater refused to answer that question, so I read up:) What’s the “beef” that made them brawny if not the traditional beef, I wonder!;)
Very interesting. It's great that Sahil was able to get so close to a raven. Did you know that Henry VIII commissioned a song called "I'm Enery the Eighth"?:
I'm enery the eighth I am
Enery the eighth I am I am
I got married to the widow next door
She's been married seven times before
And every one was an enery
She wouldn't have a Willy or a Sam
I'm her eighth old man I'm enery
Enery the eighth I am
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPVsPF9rD9c
😀Thanks, I’ll share with him!
Loved this, Anu!
Although I've been struggling today to find any reference to it, I had been brought up thinking that beefeater is bee+feater rather than beef+eater. I had no idea that that actual beef had been involved at all! Well, it turns out that I must have imagined the bee+feater thing entirely, because I can find literally NO reference to that term anywhere online. I consider myself duly re-educated, and have learned a great deal besides that from this great post! 😁
Thank you, Rebecca! The term intrigued me because when I asked our Beefeater, he shrugged it jokingly and in character as, I don’t know. Here’s one pretty in depth article that talks about the term, including the “beef” origin: https://www.yeomenoftheguard.co.uk/the-beefeaterse73c327b#:~:text=The%20King's%20Body%20Guard%20of%20the%20Yeomen%20of%20the%20Guard&text=The%20Yeomen%20of%20the%20Guard%20at%20St%20James's%20Palace%20are,of%20beef%20(%20see%20Rations%20). Yikes! That’s a long URL. The bee-feater has an interesting vibe to it:) No one knows for sure why they are called what they are, but they are certainly unique!
Ooooooh, great link - thanks, Anu!
If ever I'm at the Tower of London again I shall ask a passing beefeater what he does for a living. Will he say 'I eat beef', or 'I feat bees'? I think the evidence both in your post and the link above points to the former being the case! 🤣
😂I hope you get one who likes to explain the etymology much more than who we had;) Either ways, they are a colorful addition to history!
🤣
I've gone around in circles, but the most interesting reference I've found has been this: 'The name Beefeater is the corruption of Bueffetier (old french) Meaning food taster.'
To my amusement one of the people giving answers in this query thread below IS a Beefeater and still doesn't really know why they're called that. 🤣 https://www.theguardian.com/notesandqueries/query/0,5753,-14276,00.html
(Okay, I've stopped looking now, because there's not a single reference to a bee anywhere - either feated or otherwise!)
Very informative. I always thought the term was a warning when England reigned supreme. Their soldiers were healthy and brawny. Maybe, but not from eating meat : )
Could be! Our Beefeater refused to answer that question, so I read up:) What’s the “beef” that made them brawny if not the traditional beef, I wonder!;)
Well we've been told to eat meat by the giant meat industry. No one's telling us to eat broccoli. There is no giant broccoli industry : )
Nope, except for our conscience industry:)
I knew about the gin, but that's about it! You've plugged a big gap in my knowledge!
David, let’s say you chose to know about the most important thing;) I focused on giving life to the trivia.
P.S. I'm a plant muncher myself!