This is just wild speculation, the kind that fuels far-fetched word derivations, but could “chibbles” have been a misspelling or alternative spelling or even an earlier spelling of “kibbles”?
KarenK:
May 3rd, 2010 at 10:08 am
I had a teacher once who referred to such small debris as “shnibbles”, and I picked up the term from him.
The Holg:
May 6th, 2010 at 10:13 am
“Shnibbles” reminds me of German “schnibbeln” or “schnippeln” (both variants exist), meaning “to cut” (especially quickly and/or finely) and probably related to English “snip”. “Shnibbles” might be derived from the German word, via Yiddish perhaps.
A transition “shnibbles” – “shibbles” – “chibbles” wouldn’t seem too far-fetched to me.
The Holg:
May 6th, 2010 at 10:16 am
Addition: “Schnippel” or “Schnipsel” as a noun can be a small, cut-off piece of anything, especially paper, in German.
meike:
May 7th, 2010 at 2:23 am
Shnibbles seems to be a logical root to me in case James mom was influenced by German immigrants, bringing their native words into their new language.
In German, the word “Schnippsel” or “Schnippel” is used for small leftovers that have been cut off (mostly used relating to paper = Papierschnippsel).
Rob:
February 5th, 2011 at 3:50 pm
The definition that your mother gave was always what I had heard for the term. I remember it being used quite a bit in that context when I was growing up in the Boston area in the 70’s and 80’s, so there was at least during that time a somewhat widespread usage of the term with the definition meaning “small tidbits or debris”.
My mother, born in 1903 in Columbus, Ohio, was an immaculate housekeeper and used “chibbles” referring to small bits of paper, fluff, or food spotted on the carpet. My sister and I continued its usage which is now carried on by my daughter in Spokane and daughter in New Orleans. They have passed it on to friends, so I don’t see its demise. It comes in handy! There is still a lot of small spillage!
Michael Tweed:
November 8th, 2012 at 12:10 pm
The word Chibble refers to the removing of small pieces of a material such as wood. If you were using a knife or chisel to reshape a piece of wood or similar material you would ‘chibble away’ until you had achieved your objective.
Barbara James:
May 7th, 2013 at 12:50 pm
Find this discussion fascinating – I come from a village in Devon, UK and one of our favourite summer teatime treats (in the 60’s/70’s) was a mixed salad served with chibbles – thinly sliced spring onions left to soak for a few hours in slightly diluted malt vinegar with a sprinkling of sugar. The fact that chibble seems to have meant a spring onion at some time in the US sort of completes a circle given that many folk from the West Country were among the early settlers in the US.
Russell Bragg:
September 1st, 2013 at 4:48 pm
Found in a 1987 academic paper by a Peter J. Scott, Dept. of Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland (Canada) titled ‘COMMON NAMES OF PLANTS IN NEWFOUNDLAND': “Chibbles and Chipps – Allium schoenoprasum L. [Chives]. In England, onions are called ‘Chibbals’ and in Devon a small onion is called a ‘Chipple'”, reference said to be taken from Britten, J., and R. Holland. 1886. A Dictionary of English Plant Names. Trubner & Co., London.
Anne Nelson:
June 17th, 2014 at 7:04 pm
All my life, I have used chibble in two ways, both of which I got from my maternal grandmother.
1. “chibble it up” (noun) break it into small pieces. This can refer to food items, as in “chibble up those crackers for the meat loaf”, wood, as Michael Tweed used it above, or as I am currently doing with brances too large for my chipper but too small to be used to build palisades around my vegetable tne flower beds, and
2. “chibbles” as in little bits or pieces of something (perhaps including onions), as in “vacuum up all those chibbles of ribbon and paper before your aunt and her family come by to exchange Christmas presents.” or “clean those chibbles of salad fixings off the counter.” referring to little bits of celery, onions, radishes etc. which hied themselves off the chopping board.
Grandmother’s family was frrom Virginia, and there is some German background in the line (Buchwalders who became Buckwalter).
Anyway, that’s what chibble means and I’m sticking to it!
Paul:
November 19th, 2020 at 1:49 am
Distilled, this thread should acknowledge that “chibble” refers to any of the onion family slowly caramelized for an additive to any recipe.
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Steve Dunham:
April 30th, 2010 at 11:32 am
This is just wild speculation, the kind that fuels far-fetched word derivations, but could “chibbles” have been a misspelling or alternative spelling or even an earlier spelling of “kibbles”?
KarenK:
May 3rd, 2010 at 10:08 am
I had a teacher once who referred to such small debris as “shnibbles”, and I picked up the term from him.
The Holg:
May 6th, 2010 at 10:13 am
“Shnibbles” reminds me of German “schnibbeln” or “schnippeln” (both variants exist), meaning “to cut” (especially quickly and/or finely) and probably related to English “snip”. “Shnibbles” might be derived from the German word, via Yiddish perhaps.
A transition “shnibbles” – “shibbles” – “chibbles” wouldn’t seem too far-fetched to me.
The Holg:
May 6th, 2010 at 10:16 am
Addition: “Schnippel” or “Schnipsel” as a noun can be a small, cut-off piece of anything, especially paper, in German.
meike:
May 7th, 2010 at 2:23 am
Shnibbles seems to be a logical root to me in case James mom was influenced by German immigrants, bringing their native words into their new language.
In German, the word “Schnippsel” or “Schnippel” is used for small leftovers that have been cut off (mostly used relating to paper = Papierschnippsel).
Rob:
February 5th, 2011 at 3:50 pm
The definition that your mother gave was always what I had heard for the term. I remember it being used quite a bit in that context when I was growing up in the Boston area in the 70’s and 80’s, so there was at least during that time a somewhat widespread usage of the term with the definition meaning “small tidbits or debris”.
Doris:
July 13th, 2012 at 1:51 pm
My mother, born in 1903 in Columbus, Ohio, was an immaculate housekeeper and used “chibbles” referring to small bits of paper, fluff, or food spotted on the carpet. My sister and I continued its usage which is now carried on by my daughter in Spokane and daughter in New Orleans. They have passed it on to friends, so I don’t see its demise. It comes in handy! There is still a lot of small spillage!
Michael Tweed:
November 8th, 2012 at 12:10 pm
The word Chibble refers to the removing of small pieces of a material such as wood. If you were using a knife or chisel to reshape a piece of wood or similar material you would ‘chibble away’ until you had achieved your objective.
Barbara James:
May 7th, 2013 at 12:50 pm
Find this discussion fascinating – I come from a village in Devon, UK and one of our favourite summer teatime treats (in the 60’s/70’s) was a mixed salad served with chibbles – thinly sliced spring onions left to soak for a few hours in slightly diluted malt vinegar with a sprinkling of sugar. The fact that chibble seems to have meant a spring onion at some time in the US sort of completes a circle given that many folk from the West Country were among the early settlers in the US.
Russell Bragg:
September 1st, 2013 at 4:48 pm
Found in a 1987 academic paper by a Peter J. Scott, Dept. of Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland (Canada) titled ‘COMMON NAMES OF PLANTS IN NEWFOUNDLAND': “Chibbles and Chipps – Allium schoenoprasum L. [Chives]. In England, onions are called ‘Chibbals’ and in Devon a small onion is called a ‘Chipple'”, reference said to be taken from Britten, J., and R. Holland. 1886. A Dictionary of English Plant Names. Trubner & Co., London.
Anne Nelson:
June 17th, 2014 at 7:04 pm
All my life, I have used chibble in two ways, both of which I got from my maternal grandmother.
1. “chibble it up” (noun) break it into small pieces. This can refer to food items, as in “chibble up those crackers for the meat loaf”, wood, as Michael Tweed used it above, or as I am currently doing with brances too large for my chipper but too small to be used to build palisades around my vegetable tne flower beds, and
2. “chibbles” as in little bits or pieces of something (perhaps including onions), as in “vacuum up all those chibbles of ribbon and paper before your aunt and her family come by to exchange Christmas presents.” or “clean those chibbles of salad fixings off the counter.” referring to little bits of celery, onions, radishes etc. which hied themselves off the chopping board.
Grandmother’s family was frrom Virginia, and there is some German background in the line (Buchwalders who became Buckwalter).
Anyway, that’s what chibble means and I’m sticking to it!
Paul:
November 19th, 2020 at 1:49 am
Distilled, this thread should acknowledge that “chibble” refers to any of the onion family slowly caramelized for an additive to any recipe.