“Bologna” is the name of a city in Italy, pronounced “boh-LOAN-ya.” But although in English the sausage named after the city is spelled the same, it is pronounced “buh-LOAN-ee” and is often spelled “baloney.” Either spelling is acceptable for the sliced meat product.
Then there is the expression “a bunch of baloney.” “Baloney” in this case probably originated as a euphemism for “BS.” When it means “nonsense,” the standard spelling is “baloney.” People who write “bunch of bologna” are making a pun or are just being pretentious.
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Paul Brians’ most recent blog post talks about his appearance in The Huffington Post. Featured prominently in the Huffington Post piece are Mark Liberman and Ben Zimmer, both contributors to the William, James publication, Far from the Madding Gerund.
That means it’s a good time to put that book and Paul Brians’ Common Errors in English Usage on sale through the end of the year. Each is just $15 with free domestic shipping (US).
We bid farewell to the podcast some time ago, but we discussed “balogna/baloney” in Episode 20: What’s on the Menu? (Part 1).
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