Cheese...the ultimate sign of evil and nosiness.
I'm not quite sure cheesemakers had a reputation as nosy. I don't think the basic process of making cheese (milking a goat, straining the curds and whey, and letting the finished product mature into cheese) would necessarily make you a busybody. Then again, you could be a very skilled cheesemaker and not have to concentrate too much while making cheese; the maturation process takes time. You could have a lot of free time on your hands.
Anyone got any ideas?
Thanks :D
1 comment:
I think part of the busybody connotation to a cheese maker comes in the distribution process. A cheese maker, like the more modern milk man, would know everyone in a town and would probably have fairly regular conversations with people. Also- over the summer I met a woman who used a latin phrase I had never heard before. She referred to an old busybody lady as a 'quid nunc', literally meaning what now. I think every society has one or two particular professions (or in the more modern case, lack of profession-housewife) that are known for knowing everybody and keeping tabs on them. In conclusion, it seems plausible to me that a cheese maker would be a 'quid nunc' or someone that is always up in others business.
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