Date:  Thu, 10 Feb 1994 20:19:01 -0800

From:  Arnold Zwicky <zwicky[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]CSLI.STANFORD.EDU>

Subject: Re: A rara avis



MANGO 'green pepper' is common, but scarcely old-fashioned, in

central ohio. if i call a local pizza place (in columbus -

disregard the source of this message in palo alto, california)

and ask for green peppers on it, it comes in a box with MANGO

on it. there is actually one pizza place that's willing to

supply [tropical] mangos as a pizza topping; as in the supermarket,

this ingredient is identified as FRUIT MANGO. the marked

alternative. [i happen to like the tropical fruit, a lot. so

i've had to learn to ask for it in a phrase, not a single word.]



in my experience, the pepper-MANGO region extends at least as

far west as central illinois, though i believe it's been

contracting geographically in the younger generations. maybe

some place just south of columbus will be the vanishing point.



arnold