Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A hard, usually smoked Italian cheese.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A semi-hard cheese made of whole milk from cows. It comes primarily from Southern Italy.
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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If you have ever lived in New England, you have disputed the Philadelphia claim to having the best steak & cheese (after all, provolone is far superior cheez whiz, right?).
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Also, with respect to the word 'provolone'---actually the 'e' is silent ala "Stallone".
"Andrew, people my age are too young to remember Bill Clinton. All we have is George W. Bush. The office of the President to us is a mockery." Ann Althouse 2008
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For an accent, try a small amount of tangy hard cheese that you will have to grate such as provolone, Parmigiano-Reggiano, Romano, or gjetost.
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2. I bought provolone cheese just so that I could hear the Italian lady behind the counter say "provolone".
Archive 2008-12-01 2008
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The special turned out to be a sloppy joe with the addition of provolone cheese, onions, and garlic, which was surprisingly good, though Kailamai picked out the onions.
Miles to Go Richard Paul Evans 2011
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The Muff-a-lotta sandwich packs mortadella, salami, provolone and house-made olive salad.
Food in photos: Bayou Bakery Justin Rude 2011
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A fragrant queso ahumado has the buttery consistency of Chihuahua-style queso menonita, with a flavor and aroma reminiscent of smoked provolone.
Making merry in May: Mexico's National Cheese and Wine Festival 2009
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The special turned out to be a sloppy joe with the addition of provolone cheese, onions, and garlic, which was surprisingly good, though Kailamai picked out the onions.
Miles to Go Richard Paul Evans 2011
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Ramsay de Give for The Wall Street Journal The double cheeseburger comes pressed on a warm potato bun with special sauce and provolone.
Gotham Dining 2011
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I know the difference between provolone and cheez whiz.
john commented on the word provolone
I respectfully disagree. Italians pronounce the final vowel, but many Italian Americans do not, especially those from the New York area. My mother, her Italian father, the rest of my extended family on my mother's side, and, as far as I was able to tell, their entire neighborhood (the Flatbush section of Brooklyn) dropped vowels all over the place. Once you hear the same pronunciation from that many people it's enshrined by usage, in my opinion. As allowable, at least, if not correct.
Here's a New York Times article about the phenomenon. From which it seems you're not the only one who cringes :-)
December 26, 2007
bilby commented on the word provolone
In standard Italian the 'e' would be produced, though in some dialects it would not. Many emigrants and indeed emigrant communities left Italy with more or less only their own dialect and not the national language, which has solidified largely as a result of national service since WWII.
December 26, 2007