[tlhIngan Hol] Klingon Word of the Day: Halrov

[Steven Boozer]

Klingon word: Halrov
Part of speech: noun
Definition: treacle, syrup
Source: QelIS boqHarmey [Alice]
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(Alice p.233):  This is {Halrov}. - Sugar, of course, is not a native Klingon thing (which is why the Klingon word for "sugar" is a loan: {Su'ghar qut}).  Klingon {Halrov}, made by boiling the stems of a particular plant (and then doing some other stuff), is a thick, sticky, gooey liquid, but it's not sweet.  If specificity is needed, one can say {Su'ghar Halrov} (or {Su'ghar qut Halrov} for the Terran concoction).

In chapter 7 of Lewis Carroll's _Alice's Adventures in Wonderland_, the Dormouse tells the story of Elsie, Lacie, and Tillie, who live at the bottom of a well.  This confuses Alice, who interrupts to ask what they ate for sustenance:  "The Dormouse again took a minute or two to think about it, and then said, 'It was a treacle-well.'"  This is an allusion to the so-called "treacle well", the curative St. Margaret's Well at Binsey, Oxfordshire.  [cf. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treacle ]

N.B. Americans usually call treacle "molasses", which is the British term, although they're not quite the same thing.  According to a very quick Google search:  "While both molasses and treacle are byproducts of sugar refining, they are not exactly the same. Molasses, especially blackstrap molasses, is typically darker, thicker, and more bitter than treacle. Treacle, particularly golden syrup, tends to be lighter, thinner, and sweeter. Black treacle, often used in the UK, is similar to molasses in color and use." ("The Spruce Eats", AI Overview)

TREK NOTES:

QUARK:  Just set them on the bar. [...] You know what this is? Three cases of syrup of squill.
LEETA:    I love syrup of squill on my groatcakes, but I haven't seen a jar in over a year. 
QUARK:  No one has. 
ODO:      Does that mean the drought on Balancar is over? 
QUARK:  There never was a drought on Balancar. It was all a ploy by their Agricultural Consortium. 
              They've been stockpiling squill so they could drive the price up. 
LEETA:    That's dishonest. 
QUARK:  I couldn't agree more. You see, I once did business with the nephew of the cousin of the 
              stepsister of a friend of the secretary to the Consortium's chief accountant. [...] And he told
              me, in passing, that the accountant had bought himself a very nice pair of Ferengi rain slippers. 
ODO:      And if there was a drought, he wouldn't need rain slippers. 
QUARK:  My thoughts exactly.  So I set up a meeting with this accountant and I told him that he either
              provide me with a shipment of syrup, or I would expose their deception to the entire quadrant.
              Tomorrow morning, we are having a special on groatcakes, topped with syrup of squill. That
              is, for everyone who can afford it. What are you standing around for? Get these crates in the
              storeroom. This stuff is worth its weight in latinum.  [DS9 "The Magnificent Ferengi"]

--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons