Tag Archives: Ten-pin bowling

Skittles Three

Leave a reply

So, we know it was the nickname for a famous courtesan and we know it is the name of a game that is similar to ten pin bowling.  But there is a third item in the Skittles series…  What we here in the UK call sweets, and what people in the US call candies.

So here are some Skittles facts that you may not have known:

1.  Skittles are made by Wrigley, an American company, now part of Mars.

2.  Skittles were launched in the US in 1979 (although not made there until 1982).

3.  The original flavours were Orange, Lemon, Lime, Grape and Strawberry.

4.  In the UK, bags of Skittles come in three flavours: Fruits, Crazy Sours and Confused.  The packs are either Fruits or Crazy Sours.

5.  There are 404kcal per 100g of Skittles.  Oops!

6.  In the States there are oodles more flavours available, including Tropical, Wild Berry and Sour.

7.  More than 200 million Skittles are manufactured on a daily basis.

8.  New varieties of Skittles were introduced in the US – Tropical Skittles (eg Banana, Kiwi, Mango) and Wild Berry (Raspberry, Strawberry and Wild Cherry).

9.  In 2004 in the States, Skittles Bubble Gum was launched.

10.  If you want more flavours, best you go to the States!

Happy eating!

©Susan Shirley 2013

Advertisement

Beer and Skittles (Skittles Two)

Leave a reply

Sorry the blog is late this week – busy week.

I have been known to say “That won’t keep me in beer and skittles,” but I have no idea where the saying came from, so I thought I’d try to find out.

The Freedictionary.com refers to “life isn’t all beer and skittles” as not being able to have fun all the time.  Most of the references I found said just this.  Apparently, it was a phrase coined in the 19th century.  It’s quoted in Tom Brown’s Schooldays, and Charles Dickens used a variation of it in The Pickwick Papers, “They don’t mind it; it’s a regular holiday to them – all porter and skittles.”

The game of Skittles, by the way, has been around since the nineteenth century and is similar to ten-pin bowling.  (Funnily enough, it was also known as Ninepins.)  Apparently, it’s still played.  It was a pub game, with the pins set up in a kind of square pattern and the players were supposed to knock the pins down with a ball.  There is also a table version of the game (and I think I have seen that one on my travels).

Porter is a type of ale – if you see the old pubs with the glazed tiles, you’ll often see a reference to porter imprinted in the tiles.

I was beginning to think I’d made up my expression until I came across a website called word-detective.com.  There is a 2010 entry that says, “Sam’s parking fine payments keep the city in beer and skittles.”  Word-detective.com is a US website, so maybe the original English phrase changed a bit due to the water in between the two countries?  Anyway, I’m happy now that I know roughly how it originated and that I didn’t imagine hearing it somewhere.

Have a good week.

©Susan Shirley 2013