olio

American  

[oh-lee-oh] / ˈoʊ liˌoʊ /

noun

plural

olios

1. a dish of many ingredients.

2. Informal. olla podrida.

3. a mixture of heterogeneous elements; hodgepodge.

4. a medley or potpourri, as of musical or literary selections; miscellany.

5. Theater.

   1. a specialty act performed downstage while the upstage set is changed.

   2. a performance, as a musical number, presented between scenes or acts.

   3. drop scene.

   4. a program of variety acts, especially the second half of a minstrel show.

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olio British  

/ ˈəʊlɪˌəʊ /

noun

1. a dish of many different ingredients

2. a miscellany or potpourri

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Etymology

Origin of olio

1635–45; < Spanish olla pot, stew < Latin olla, ōla pot, jar

Explanation

An olio is a hodgepodge of various things. The contents of your desk might be an olio of books and notebooks, uneaten snacks, the mini flashlight you found on the sidewalk, a golf ball, toothbrush and toothpaste, a Frisbee... An olio was originally, and still is, a Spanish or Latin American stew containing a variety of ingredients, such as sausage, perhaps other meats, tomatoes, chickpeas, and various other vegetables. The full name for this stew is olla podrida. The word olio came to be used for any collection of many kinds of different things, especially things that don't really seem to belong together or have anything in common. It can also describe a musical medley or a variety show.

Example Sentences

“Louise’s former aglio e olio was a greasy mess with mushrooms, cheese, limp noodles,” it said.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 21, 2023

Inspired by classic aglio e olio but with a porky twist, this weeknight dinner involves very few ingredients and almost no effort.

From Salon • Apr. 10, 2022

While my parents made sure that I hadn’t poisoned my grandmother, I went back to the kitchen and whipped up a simple spaghetti aglio e olio, which I secretly preferred to chanterelles.

From The New Yorker • Nov. 18, 2019

Ms. Ardu is adding swordfish carpaccio and spaghetti aglio olio to the restaurant’s red-sauce menu.

From New York Times • Sep. 10, 2019

Interior of a ball-room—Creole ladies—Infantile dancers—French children—American children—A singular division—New-Orleans ladies—Northern and southern beauty—An agreeable custom—Leave the assembly-room—An olio of languages—The Exchange—Confusion of tongues—Temples of Fortune.

From The South-West By a Yankee. In Two Volumes. Volume 1 by Ingraham, Joseph Holt