Show Macaroni Club Figured in Yankee Doodle Song The word macaroni in the song Yankee r Doodle is more than merely nonsense It is a remnant of eighteenth century English slang declares a writer in m the Cleveland Plain Dealer About 1772 a n group cf young Eng Eng- Englishmen Englishmen of wealth and leisure leisure most of whom had spent considerable time on the thc continent and particularly particularly in Italy formed a fashionable organization which they called the Macaroni club The name was taken from the fact that as one of their r peculiarities or individualities they served macaroni at the club din din- ners pers The dish was then little known in England and was practically in in- introduced introduced in that country by the e Macaroni club The Macaronis also sought for fo r singularity in dress and manners They wore immense knots of artificial artificial cial hair projecting behind very Y small cocked hats carried walking g sticks adorned with tassels of bright t colors and affected very tight jack jack- jackets jackets jackets ets and knee breeches Macaroni soon came to be a derisive term ter m for an effete man but in its earliest earlies mt t popular use it had something of the thc th e suggestion of such expressions a as s ritzy and high hat |