I am reading the book "The Way We Are" by Margaret Visser, which is comprised of a series of columns/essays that I believe were previously published in the magazine Saturday Night. The book covers a huge variety of topics, including food. One particular essay deals with our word of the day...offal!
Offal is a general term that refers to organ meat - things like liver, tripe, and sweatbreads. These types of meat tend to carry some stigma, but they do have their supporters. I gave them a try at Galileo III when I had the "Unusuals" menu (sadly, they don't offer it any more!), and I must say I became a quasi-convert. Tripe wasn't quite up my alley, but feet, tongue, and brain were pretty tasty...and, well, I have always adored sweetbreads. Preparing these types of meat requires skill, but done well, they really are tasty.
I loved the following anecdote, which I learned from the previously mentioned book. Back in the day (1800s England, to be exact), offal was referred to as "numbles," and sometimes as "umbles." At that point, offal was often given to the poor (waaaaaay back in the day - i.e., ancient Greece - organ meat was actually considered a delicacy, due to its scarcity). Anyway, at some point, "umbles" was thought to be a mispronunciation of "humbles." So...someone who "eats humble pie" is poor or of a lower status. Who knew?
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