smorgasbord

[ smawr-guhs-bawrd, -bohrdor, often, shmawr- ]

noun

1. a buffet meal of various hot and cold hors d'oeuvres, salads, casserole dishes, meats, cheeses, etc.
2. an extensive array or variety:

   The company has a smorgasbord of employee benefits.

smorgasbord

/ ˈsmɜː-; ˈsmɔːɡəsˌbɔːd /

noun

1. a variety of cold or hot savoury dishes, such as pâté, smoked salmon, etc, served in Scandinavia as hors d'oeuvres or as a buffet meal

Word History and Origins

Origin of smorgasbord¹

First recorded in 1875–80; from Swedish smörgåsbord, equivalent to smörgås “(slice of) bread and butter, sandwich,” from smör “butter”; ( smear ( def ) ) + gås “goose, (dialect) lump of fat or butter” ( goose ( def ) ) + bord “table” ( board ( def ) )

Word History and Origins

Origin of smorgasbord¹

Swedish, from smörgås sandwich + bord table

Example Sentences

The book is more than a smorgasbord—it’s like a World’s Fair international food pavilion bound between covers.

From The Daily Beast

The reason to read this book is not so much that it contains a recipe for anything — unless you’re baking, there may be no such thing — but rather that it offers a smorgasbord of ideas from which you can pick and choose what works for you.

From Washington Post

For a monthly fee, gamers can get access to a smorgasbord of titles to choose from, or play their own on pricey hardware.

From Time

All of these should play well with a smorgasbord of foods and help set a holiday mood.

From Washington Post

In the upcoming year, tech companies plan to push a smorgasbord of policy changes, each of which will have its own political implications.

From Fortune

Holding the architectural smorgasbord of a castle together was cement, wire, and mortar.

From The Daily Beast

It’s arguably the best film of the ‘90s—a postmodern pop culture smorgasbord awash in nihilism and dripping with retro cool.

From The Daily Beast

In Magnolia (1999)—“a smorgasbord of pleasure, that movie”—he played opposite Tom Cruise as a nurse.

From The Daily Beast

And there is an intellectual smorgasbord of policy lunches, coffees, and evening lectures, most of it open to the public.

From The Daily Beast

Beck's been pumping up this super-patriot smorgasbord since last November.

From The Daily Beast

There she was, five foot eleven of big, bouncy, blonde smorgasbord.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• array
• assortment
• hodgepodge
• mishmash