Waffle



Food

A waffle is a flat batter cake cooked between two hot plates that are called a waffle iron. It has a distinctive gridlike appearance, the result of raised partitions on the waffle iron.

Waffles are considered typical of Belgium, which boasts several varieties of waffles with somewhat different recipes.

In the United States, waffles are largely a breakfast food, popular enough that a franchised restaurant chain called Waffle House has more than 1,000 restaurants in 24 states. In 2001, it claimed to have sold more than 442 million waffles in the previous 46 years. A popular variant is the so-called Belgian waffle, which is lighter, taller, and crispier than standard waffles and is often served with ice cream, as a dessert. The Belgian Waffle was introduced into North America during the 1964 New York World's Fair.

A Japanese waffle, or taiyaki, is a batter cake cooked like other waffles, but typically shaped like a fish and filled with sweet paste called an.

Rhetorical Usage

British usage of the term Waffle denotes language without meaning; blathering, babbling, droning.

In the United States it is used as a derogatory term to describe a candidate or politician who is said to easily switch sides on issues to curry political favor. A waffle was famously used to represent President Bill Clinton in the Doonesbury comic strip. Synonymous with "flip-flop".

This usage dates back to the late 19th century in the United States, and apparently has no relation to the food. Etymologists say the term was derived from waff, a 17th century onomatopoeia for the sound a barking dog makes, similar to the modern woof. Although the relationship between a dog's bark and indecisiveness is not entirely clear, the speculation is that the words of a waffler have no more meaning than a dog barking.