Small pastries with a sweet or savory filling, topped or enclosed with pastry; or sour/acidic in taste (as an adjective).
From Old English 'teart' or related to 'tart' meaning sharp or sour. The pastry meaning is from French 'tarte,' possibly from Latin 'torta' meaning twisted bread.
Tarte Tatin—the upside-down apple tart—was accidentally invented when a French chef forgot about her apples cooking in butter and sugar, then turned the pan over rather than admit her mistake!
Historical slur applied primarily to women (short for 'tartish'). Gendered insult conflating appearance/behavior with sexual morality, rarely applied to men.
Avoid as character descriptor; use only in culinary context. If discussing historical language, name the gendered insult explicitly rather than perpetuating it.
["pastry","dessert"]
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