I always assume the part that begins with 'self-assured' and ends with 'chic' is what people are saying about me. You see, 'sassy' started out as 'saucy,' according to the Oxford English Dictionary, which defines it as:

I always think of Sarah 'Sassy' Vaughan's spirit, verve and 'sass.' I'm sometimes described as 'sassy,' and when that happens I choose to take it as a compliment. In our semi-regular Word Watch feature, we take a look at a word or phrase that's caught our attention, whether for its history, usage, etymology, or just because it has an interesting story. Any other flavors we associate with spiciness are combinations of the five basic tastes.Jazz singer and pianist Sarah Vaughan reportedly earned the nickname 'Sassy,' from pianist John Malachi. The article does mention that Chinese cuisine considers 'spicy' to be a basic taste in place of 'savory,' but I've read articles recently that demonstrate that the 'hot' flavor we associate with chili peppers is only a sensation of irritation. So 'savory' is actually neither sweet nor salty, but a basic taste of its own. Here's a brief and accurate article on the five tastes: Aged cheese, miso, and monosodium glutamate (MSG) possess the highest levels of the chemicals involved. Umami is the flavor that makes meat foods taste different from (and many say better than) vegetable foods. These five tastes are sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and the recently discovered 'umami,' or 'savory.' The word 'umami' comes from Japanese, and I'm told it means something like what 'yummy' means in English. All other flavors are combinations of any of these five basic tastes, plus whatever the sense of smell contributes. Since we're getting so technical and all.įolks, modern science considers there to be five basic 'tastes' that a person can sense.

What is the opposite of sweet