The Proof of the Pudding Is in the Eating

An old proverb, with maxims expressing a similar idea traced back as far as the 1300s and the full phrase itself documented from antiquarian William Camden's 1623 book Remains Concerning Britain. In medieval English, "pudding" didn't mean a sweet dessert; it referred to a dense savoury dish of meat, grains, fat, and spices, often stuffed into an animal's intestine, and "proof" meant a test rather than evidence. The only real way to judge whether a pudding had been made well was to actually eat it. Over time the proverb got clipped down in everyday speech to the shorter, much less logical "the proof is in the pudding," a phrase that, taken literally, doesn't really mean anything at all, since proof obviously isn't found inside a pudding. The original, longer version is the one that actually makes sense.