2575: spanspek Jan 1, 2022

Among the various words for cantaloupe melons, there is 'rockmelon' in New Zealand, 'sweet melon', and in South African 'spanspek'. This word has been subject to some folk etymology, with the story being that it is from the Afrikaans 'spaanse spek' (Spanish bacon) since an early governor of the Cape Colony had bacon with his breakfast and his Spanish wife had melon. This word predated the governor Sir Harry Smith by some time and was originally from another colony: Suriname. There, it was named due to its thick skin and its connection to the Spanish is not from one governess.