olla podrida

[ ol-uh puh-dree-duh; Spanish aw-lyah paw-three-thah, aw-yah ]

noun

1. a spicy Spanish stew of sausage and other meat, chickpeas, and often tomatoes and other vegetables.
2. an incongruous mixture or miscellany; olio.

olla podrida

/ pɒˈdriːdə; poˈðriða /

noun

1. a Spanish dish, consisting of a stew with beans, sausages, etc
2. an assortment; miscellany

Word History and Origins

Origin of olla podrida¹

1590–1600; < Spanish: literally, rotten pot

Word History and Origins

Origin of olla podrida¹

literally: rotten pot

Example Sentences

At last mother had an idea, and she made a sort of Spanish stew—what they call an olla podrida, you know.

From Project Gutenberg

It is an olla podrida of dark, poor, smoky mud huts; narrow dirt-heaped alleys, with bones and offal lying about; gaunt yelping dogs; bottle-green slimy pools, and ruins.

From Project Gutenberg

To complete the olla podrida, we must remember that no old acquaintance, or family connections, however remote their actual station or style of manners from his own, were forgotten or lost sight of.

From Project Gutenberg

An olla podrida of every set in the Hague.

From Project Gutenberg

In that curious olla podrida of fact and fiction, "The Curiosities of Literature," D'Israeli gives a list of six of these problems, which he calls "The Six Follies of Science."

From Project Gutenberg