Lagniappe — New Orleans Extra

Pronounced *LAN-yap* — the New Orleans word for something extra, a little bonus thrown in for free. A 13th donut in the dozen, an extra oyster on the plate, the bartender's story after last call. Mark Twain called it "a word worth travelling to New Orleans to get" when he wrote about it in *Life on the Mississippi* in 1883, and he was right. It is nice, limber, expressive, handy. It is the thirteenth roll in a baker's dozen. Something thrown in, gratis, for good measure. The word comes from Quechua through Spanish — *yapay*, to increase, to add. In Andean markets you still ask for a *yapa* when you buy something, and the seller throws in a little extra. The Spanish brought the custom to New Orleans, and it stayed. After the Spanish conquered the Inca Empire, some Quechua words entered Spanish. When Spain held Louisiana, the word made it into Louisiana French, stretched out and Gallicized into *lagniappe*. The custom outlasted the Spanish occupation. It is still widely practiced in Louisiana. Street vendors are expected to throw in a few green chili peppers or a small bunch of cilantro with a purchase. Twain watched the custom in action: when a child or a servant buys something in a shop, he finishes the operation by saying, "Give me something for lagniappe." The shopman always responds — gives the child a bit of licorice-root, gives the servant a cheap cigar or a spool of thread. And when you are invited to drink in New Orleans and you say you've had enough, the other party says, "But just this one time more — this is for lagniappe." Lagniappe is not a gimmick. It is a philosophy. In a city built on trade routes between river and lake, between continents, between tongues, the extra became the point. You will encounter it at restaurants, shops, and bars across the city. Look for the extra. It is still there.