sop

A "sop" is one of those words that moves between the kitchen and human behavior. In the most literal sense, it is a piece of bread dipped in soup, milk, gravy, or some other liquid. More often, though, it appears in a figurative sense: a small gift, promise, or concession meant to calm an angry person or satisfy a critic without really solving the problem. A company, for example, might offer a token refund as a sop to unhappy customers. The word can also be used as a verb meaning to soak something thoroughly, though that use is less common in everyday speech.

The word "sop" has an old, earthy feel to it, and its history starts with food. It comes from Old English sopp, which meant bread soaked in liquid. That basic image still survives when someone sops up gravy, sauce, or soup with a piece of bread. From there, the word grew into a figurative meaning: something small that is given to calm, distract, or satisfy someone. This is the idea behind the old phrase "a sop to Cerberus," from Greek myth, where a cake was thrown to the dog guarding the entrance to Hades so he would stay quiet. In modern English, a sop is often a token concession, not a real solution.

The verb use is closely related: to sop something is to soak it, wet it heavily, or pick up liquid with it. That is why English also has the familiar phrase "sopping wet." There are also older noun uses that appear in literature more than in daily conversation. In those cases, a sop can mean a weak, foolish person, or even a habitual drunkard. Those senses are much less common today, but they are still part of the word's history. Taken together, the word can point to soaked bread, a token peace offering, the act of soaking something, or, in older writing, a person seen as feeble or given to drink.