olla podrida

American  

[ol-uh puh-dree-duh, aw-lyah paw-three-thah, aw-yah] / ˌɒl ə pəˈdri də, ˌɔ lyɑ pɔˈðri ðɑ, ˌɔ yɑ /

noun

1. a spicy Spanish stew of sausage and other meat, chickpeas, and often tomatoes and other vegetables.

2. an incongruous mixture or miscellany; olio.

---

olla podrida British  

/ pɒˈdriːdə, poˈðriða /

noun

1. a Spanish dish, consisting of a stew with beans, sausages, etc

2. an assortment; miscellany

---

Etymology

Origin of olla podrida

1590–1600; < Spanish: literally, rotten pot

Example Sentences

A skillfully concocted olla podrida of Latin American nightclub idioms sizzling in Stravinskian sauce with occasional Straussian dumplings.

From Time Magazine Archive

His family is what the Spanish call olla podrida, or rotten pot, a mess.

From Time Magazine Archive

The investigating priest is soon dipping into an olla podrida involving cupidity, lost love and sudden deaths at the church that may or may not have been accidents.

From Time Magazine Archive

This consisted of an olla podrida of all sorts of papers, such as would have won the heart of Charles Godfrey Leland.

From The World's Greatest Books — Volume 15 — Science by Hammerton, John Alexander, Sir

In Spain we find the olla podrida, a dish containing, as chief ingredient, the garbanzo or field-pea: it is a rich stew, of fowls or bacon, red peppers, and pease.

From The Easiest Way in Housekeeping and Cooking Adapted to Domestic Use or Study in Classes by Campbell, Helen