- a dish of diced or chopped meat and often vegetables
- a mess, jumble, or muddle: a hash of unorganized facts and figures
- a reworking of old and familiar material: This blog-post is a hash of several earlier and better works.
- electrical noise on a radio or snow in a television picture caused by interfering outside sources that generate sparking – from Radio and Television Slang.
- to discuss or review (something) thoroughly (often followed by out): We hashed out every aspect of the issue.
- hash over, to bring up again for consideration; discuss, especially in review: At the class reunion they hashed over their college days.
- make a hash of, to spoil or botch: The new writer made a hash of his first assignment.
- settle someone's hash, Informal. to get rid of; subdue: Her blunt reply really settled my hash.
Lots and lots of meanings – which one works for you?!
For me "hash" it's the food item (no surprise there). I love hash!
For as long as I can remember (and years before Yelp), when evaluating a diner I use hash as the measuring stick. Hash is the quickest way evaluate a diner's entire menu – even before you eat. First, do they serve it? Then is it made in-house (or does it come out of a can)? Obviously, if the answers are “yes and yes” – you have to order it. Even if the answers are “yes and no” – I’ll probably order it! By the way, the proper way to order it is “crispy” with 1, 2 or 3 sunny-side up eggs.
The best hash I’ve ever had was at (the now sadly, closed) Carnegie Deli in NYC. It was a hash based on the sandwich that at the time was called the “Broadway Danny Rose” (subsequently renamed the “Woody Allen” - after the movie's writer/director), which was a mix of corned beef and pastrami. It was unbelievably good hash, because the corned beef and pastrami were excellent ingredients!
It is, of course, all about the ingredients!
At home, I challenge myself to make hash from any and all kinds of items found in my fridge. I don’t even think of the items as leftovers. To me those items are simply just “ingredients”. Everything in the fridge is an “ingredient”!
If you have cooked potatoes, cooked meat, stale bread, onions, bell pepper, you've got all the ingredients you need to make a great hash.
So, go on, open that fridge search for ingredients and “Do make a hash of things!”
