pepper pot meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

pepper pot

nounalso spelled pepper-pot

Etymology The mushroom sense (sense 2) arose because the mature fruiting body of the mushroom resembles a literal pepper pot (sense 1) and the spores that fly out of it resemble the granules of pepper being dispensed. The feisty-person sense (sense 4) arose because such a person figuratively adds spice to life, like a literal pepper pot (sense 1) does.

A small container with a perforated top used for sprinkling ground pepper.

A mushroom, Myriostoma coliforme.

A soup made of tripe, vegetables and dumplings, seasoned with pepper.

Figuratively A person who is hot tempered; a feisty or argumentative person.

An unfortunate quarrel between our pepperpots marked the outset of our new stage.1912, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Lost World […], London; New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC:

pepper-pot

verb

New Zealand, UK To intersperse privately-owned houses and social housing.

In a government office not so long ago, we read an understandable petition from Europeans asking that these 'pepper-potted' people be removed, or they were going to move.1982, Hans Mol, The fixed and the fickle: religion and identity in New Zealand, page 70:
Although these would be of a maximum of 12 houses, he would prefer to pepper-pot rather than create the risk of "mini ghettos".1997, Institute of Housing (Great Britain), Housing (volume 33, page 22)

1 more example

Residential surveyors also say pepper-potting reduces the marketability of a house.2008, Barry Goodchild, Homes, Cities and Neighbourhoods, page 222: