"We picked up one excellent word—a word worth traveling to New Orleans to get; a nice limber, expressive, handy word, lagniappe."-Mark Twain,
Life on the Mississippi (1883)
Lagniappe [lan-yap]; noun; Southern Louisiana in origin:
1. A little something extra
2. An unexpected benefit
3. A small gift for good measure
In Louisiana, a 13th oyster on your platter of a dozen on the half-shell is lagniappe. The free weekend guide included in your Friday paper is called Lagniappe. And here at Lagniappe Gourmet, that "little something extra" refers to the Louisiana way of adding something great to something already good- even in the little things.
Read more on Lagniappe at http://www.alphadictionary.com/goodword/word/lagniappe
