LAGNIAPPE

This book goes a little wonky by citing examples of the use of the chosen word before the definition itself. Which is contrary to what most dictionaries do but that's what we're dealing with in this instance.

LAGNIAPPE

One of the Philadelphia players castigated the manager for benching Luzinski, Garry Maddox and Bob Boone late in the season. As lagniappe, he called thee Philadelphia fans "the worst in baseball."

lagniappe--something extra, something for good measure. Pronounced lan-yap. This word was born in the United States among the Creole population of Louisiana. Its original meaning is seen in this sentence written by a traveler in 1893 in Harper's Magazine:

"Take that for a lagniappe," says a storekeeper in New Orleans as he folds a pretty calendar into the bundle of stationery you have purchased.



from I Always Look Up The Word Egregious by Maxwell Nurnberg