pretzel meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

pretzel

noun

/ˈpɹɛt.səl/ · [ˈpʰɹɛʔt͡sɫ̩]

Etymology From dialectal German Pretzel, a variant of standard Brezel, from Old High German brēzitella, from Vulgar Latin *brāchiātellus, diminutive of Latin brāchium, bracchium (“arm”); named for the appearance of folded arms.

Cooking, Food, Lifestyle A toasted bread or cracker usually in the shape of a loose knot.

When I was young, the best Philadelphia could do in the way of combining music and eating—or principally drinking—was at the Mäennerchor Garden at Ninth and Green, where a pretzel might be had with a glass of beer, or a sherry cobbler1914, Elizabeth Robins Pennell, Our Philadelphia, Chapter 19:
Outside, the little birds on the telegraph wires looked in at the moving picture and smiled at one another. Some even wept. Then they flew down into the street and simply raved over a stale pretzel, ten days dead.1918, Gelett Burgess, Ain't Angie Awful!, Chapter 8:

Broadly, Figuratively Anything that is knotted, twisted, or tangled.

he drew himself up into a regular pretzel of a boy1901, Alice Hegan Rice, Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch/Chapter 6, Chapter 6:

Derived terms: get one's panties in a pretzel, minipretzel, pretzel-bender, pretzelize, pretzel knot, pretzellike, pretzel link, pretzelosity, pretzel pillow, pretzel style, pretzel syndrome

pretzel

verb

Canada, US, Informal To bend, twist, or contort.

They discovered a snake pretzelled into knots.