macaroni

Everyday

1. A kind of pasta in short, curved tubes. tree →
2. (history, 18th century) A young man who wore very fancy, showy clothes and a big wig, copying the fashions of Europe. tree →

In the lessons

In everyday cooking: macaroni cheese (UK) or mac and cheese (US). In history and music lessons: the old song «Yankee Doodle» says he «stuck a feather in his cap and called it macaroni» — meaning he thought a feather made him a fine, fashionable gentleman; British soldiers sang it to mock the Americans.

Examples

• We had macaroni cheese for dinner. tree →
• Macaroni is made from wheat flour and water. tree →
• Boil the macaroni for ten minutes. tree →
• Yankee Doodle «stuck a feather in his cap and called it macaroni». tree →
• In the 1770s a macaroni wore a huge wig. tree →
• We made a necklace by threading dry macaroni. tree →
• He tried the straw, but, as he chewed away at it, he noticed to his great disappointment that it tasted neither like rice nor like macaroni. tree →

Note

Uncountable as food: «some macaroni», not «a macaroni». Ends in -i, from Italian «maccheroni».