olio

American  

[oh-lee-oh] / ˈoʊ liˌoʊ /

noun

olios plural

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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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• olios
  plural

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

See Examples For:

olio olios

Caffè Panna in Manhattan serves a gelato con olio that features vanilla ice cream with Sicilian extra virgin olive oil.

From Salon ● Apr. 20, 2024

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

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2023

Barkeepers Ben Smith and Austin Polley took over the former Speckled & Drake space and upped their food game, adding an affordable fresh pasta menu with spaghetti aglio e olio, black pepper fettuccine and more.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 20, 2023

Use them to top a classic Italian-style pasta such as aglio e olio for a big punch of sweet, caramelized flavor and crunch.

From New York Times ● May 23, 2022

But I have such an olio of affairs, really I know not what to do.

From The Way of the World by Congreve, William

One of my favorite aglio e olios had more coarsely ground, but just as crisp, breadcrumbs.

From Salon ● Jan. 1, 2022

The festivities were duly preceded with the religious ceremonies of the great holyday of St. Patrick's feast, and closed by a grand entertainment at night, which included theatricals, recitations and olios of song and sentiment.

From Donahoe's Magazine, Vol. XV, No. 4, April, 1886 Volume 15 (January 1886 - July 1886) by Various

Words ending in io or yo add s; as, folios, nuncios, olios, ratios, embryos.

From Slips of Speech : a Helpful Book for Everyone Who Aspires to Correct the Everyday Errors of Speaking by Bechtel, John Hendricks

Not dainty now, the squire in haste Fell to, and praised their savory taste; Nay, said his meal had such a gout He ne'er in tarts and olios knew.

From Aesop, in Rhyme Old Friends in a New Dress by Park, Marmaduke

Gargilius, sleek, voluptuous lord, A hundred dainties smoke upon his board; Earth, air, and ocean ransack’d for the feast, In masquerade of foreign olios dress’d.

From A Poetical Cook-Book by Moss, Maria J.