Wednesday's Random Slang-o-rama: From scratch

Here in the U.S. of A. today, many folks are no doubt making last-minute dashes to the grocery stores for foodstuffs and items for Thanksgiving on Thursday. Some will be grabbing pre-made goodies, while others (bless 'em) will be starting from scratch.

From scratch. Hmmmm. Have you ever wondered about that expression? I am wondering now, at any rate. How old is it? And did it arise from the world of cooking/baking, or something else?

Let's find out.

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According to Merriam-Webster, "to create something from scratch is to make it without any ingredients or materials prepared ahead of time. The scratch in from scratch originally referred to the starting line of a race "scratched" into the ground, from which all runners would be starting without a head start." So, basically, from scratch springs from sports-talk, then moved on over to refer to the realms of cooking and building.

The Phrase Finder notes that "the first person who is recorded as starting from scratch was participating in 'pedestrianism' - what we would now call running." The phrase appears in the British sporting newspaper The Era, in a report on a handicap running event in Sheffield in December 1853:

 The match on the Hyde Park Ground, Sheffield... has already created quite a furore of excitement among the sporting men of the North. The manner in which the men have been handicapped [is]: James Pudney (of Mile-end) and James Sherdon (of Sheffield), start from scratch; John Syddall, six yards; Richard Conway, twelve; John Saville, twenty...

From running to cooking is a ways to go. Well, I could probably be persuaded to run to the dining table for a piece of pumpkin pie made from scratch.

Wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving!