October 31, 2007, 20:03
KallehFajita
I have written a limerick for OEDILF with the word
fajita in the singular form. The workshoppers think that
fajita is only plural and want me to change the wording of the line, which, in all fairness, wouldn't be hard. Still, I am wondering, can't
fajita be both singular and plural? Don't you ask for a
fajita, when you order just one, in a restaurant? Or is there a singular word for it that we should be using?
I did search the dictionaries, and they define
fajita and then say the plural is
fajita. One dictionary did say that it is usually used in the plural form.
Thoughts?
October 31, 2007, 20:40
<Asa Lovejoy> Fajita is something you say in restaurants!?!? I thought it was what they call streetwalkers in Guatemala!
I've always heard the plural with an "s." I guess those old fudds on OEDILF have never been to Guatemala!
October 31, 2007, 21:12
<Asa Lovejoy>Ohhh, I was wrong! Guatemala noce THIS is!
(Sorry Jerry - terrible Spanish/Gringo pun!)
November 01, 2007, 00:46
Richard EnglishI believe the noun is derived from the verb "fajar", to wrap. Most Spanish nouns, like most English nouns, become plural by adding an "s" and I'd have thought fajita was no exception.
I am not familiar with Guatamala or its ladies of the night, but I could hazard a guess as to why this particular soubriquet has been given to them
November 01, 2007, 14:38
bethree5An accurate translation of "fajitas" might be "little pieces of skirt steak", so "a fajita" doesn't seem right as the name for a full serving. However, according to dictionary.com, "fajitas" may be used with a singular or plural noun. The derivation is given in various sources as "fascia", from the Latin for a band or sheet of connective tissue.