interlard

American  

[in-ter-lahrd] / ˌɪn tərˈlɑrd /

verb (used with object)

1. to diversify by adding or interjecting something unique, striking, or contrasting (usually followed bywith ).

   to interlard one's speech with oaths.

2. (of things) to be intermixed in.

3. Obsolete. to mix, as fat with lean meat.

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interlard British  

/ ˌɪntəˈlɑːd /

verb

1. to scatter thickly in or between; intersperse

   to interlard one's writing with foreign phrases

2. to occur frequently in; be scattered in or through

   foreign phrases interlard his writings

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Other Word Forms

• interlardation noun
• interlardment noun

Etymology

Origin of interlard

First recorded in 1400–50; Middle English interlarden, enterlarde, from Middle French entrelarder, equivalent to entre “between,” from Latin inter + larder “to cook with lard or bacon fat”; see origin at inter- + lard

Explanation

Interlard refers to speech or writing and it means "to load up with" or "to pepper." Your mom's request that you come to a family dinner might be interlarded with references to how often lately you've been out with friends. Are you wondering about seeing lard inside interlard? In the 15th century, interlard came into English from Middle French, where it meant to "mix with alternate layers of fat." Yum, right? :-) Maybe not, but important to remember, as interlarded speech or writing is well-greased in a figurative way. Think of your math teacher's lessons interlarded with jokes from The Simpsons :-) or a word-learning blurb interlarded with smiles :-).

Example Sentences

The conclusion of Monkey is surprising enough, and the late Sam Janney has managed to interlard his melodrama with agreeable comedy..

From Time Magazine Archive

Both interlard their radio talk with bits of hard rock.

From Time Magazine Archive

She knew two other methods also—either to interlard her lies with truth or to tell a truth as though it were a lie.

From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck

Mademoiselle, accustomed to the rigid propriety of the French court, was not a little surprised to hear Christina, during the comedy, interlard her conversation with hearty oaths, with all the volubility of an old guardsman.

From Louis XIV. Makers of History Series by Abbott, John S. C. (John Stevens Cabot)

They would fain usurp the Title of Highnesses, which is given them by their Domestics, and many poor Gentlemen, who interlard it with abundance of Monseigneurs.

From The Memoirs of Charles-Lewis, Baron de Pollnitz, Volume II Being the Observations He Made in His Late Travels From Prussia thro' Germany, Italy, France, Flanders, Holland, England, &C. in Letters to His Friend. Discovering Not Only the Present State of the Chief Cities and Towns; but the Characters of the Principal Persons at the Several Courts. by P?llnitz, Karl Ludwig von