Vanilla is a flavor made from the seed pods of a tropical plant and is often used in ice cream, cakes, and desserts. The word can also describe something plain or ordinary, without anything special added.
From Spanish 'vainilla', meaning 'little pod', referring to the shape of the vanilla bean. The Spanish word itself comes from 'vaina', meaning 'sheath' or 'pod'.
People use ‘vanilla’ to mean boring, but real vanilla is one of the most complex and expensive flavors in the world. Calling something ‘plain vanilla’ is like calling a diamond ‘just a rock’. It shows how language can drift far away from reality.
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