Part of Speech: Noun Meaning: 1. Leftover, scrap of food that
remains after a meal is finished. 2. A scrap, a piece of trash
that is left over from any job, as cleaning up the orts on a
construction site. Notes: This word is remarkable in that it is
one of the few words in English actually spelled as it is
pronounced. It has been in the English language since the 14th
century and is making yet another comeback in the 21st. How is
that for staying power? It is almost always used in the plural,
orts, just as is the case with its near synonyms, leftovers and
crumbs. In Play: The original meaning of today's word apparently
was "leftover animal feed", but my experience with animals leads
me to believe that animals are careful not to leave food behind.
In fact, they tend to help us out with our leftovers: "Ernie,
would you let the dog back into the kitchen to clean up the
baby's orts?" However, orts can be any kind of leftovers you can
imagine: "Oh, the good committee posts go to the senior faculty;
junior faculty