August 20, 2012 - coddle (verb) - What does it mean? - : to
treat with extreme care : pamper - How do you use it? - "Big Ma
was not one for coddling any of us, but now she turned from the
stove and, wiping her hands on her long white apron, sat down on
the bench and put her arm around Little Man." (Mildred D.
Taylor, _Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry_) - Are you a word wiz?
The "pamper" sense of "coddle" comes from an earlier meaning
that had to do with a special kind of careful treatment given to
something delicate. What do you think was treated so
carefully?We're not going to coddle you, just tell you that A is
the right answer. When "coddle" first came to be part of the
English language around 1600, the word meant to cook something
slowly and gently in water that is just below the boiling point.
Usually eggs are what's being cooked when "coddle" is used in
this sense today, but when "coddle" was first being used, other
foods, especially fruit, were also cooked by coddling. Because
coddling is a very gentle way