6,788 articles
Weisswurst
Weisswurst (Weißwurst), Munich's white sausage: a Bavarian scalded sausage of veal and pork, poached, eaten with sweet mustard and pretzel before noon, legendary 1857 origin.
Well drink
Well drink, also called rail or house drink: a mixed drink made with a bar's cheapest house spirits when the customer names no brand, contrasted with call drinks; name comes from the bartender's speed rail well.
Wellington boot
Wellington boot (welly, gumboot): waterproof pull-on boot named for the 1st Duke of Wellington, adapted from the Hessian boot by shoemaker George Hoby; first used 1816, made in rubber from 1856, mass-issued to WWI soldiers in 1916.
Welsh rarebit
Welsh rarebit, also Welsh rabbit (caws pobi), is a Welsh dish of toast topped with a melted cheese sauce made with ale, mustard, and Worcestershire sauce; first recorded as Welsh rabbit in 1725.
Wendy Thomas
Wendy Thomas (Melinda Lou "Wendy" Thomas Morse, born 1961) is the daughter of Wendy's founder Dave Thomas, the chain's namesake and logo model, later a Wendy's franchisee and 2010-2011 commercial spokesperson.
Wendy's
Wendy's (The Wendy's Company, Nasdaq: WEN) is an American fast-food hamburger chain founded by Dave Thomas in Columbus, Ohio, on November 15, 1969, known for square fresh-beef patties, the Frosty, and its Pick-Up Window drive-through; 7,397 restaurants as of December 2025.
Wensleydale cheese
Wensleydale cheese: British crumbly cow's-milk cheese from Wensleydale, Yorkshire Dales; protected version Yorkshire Wensleydale holds UK/EU PGI status; monastic origins around 1150; Hawes creamery, Saputo then Lactalis ownership.
Wenwan walnuts (文玩核桃)
Wenwan walnuts (文玩核桃), also called play walnuts or hand-rolling walnuts, are Chinese collectible walnuts kept for their shells, handled as matched pairs rotated in one hand, and slowly darkened into a patina (baojiang) by years of handling; main production centers on Laishui, Hebei.
Werther's Original
Werther's Original is a Storck caramel-butter candy brand from Werther, Germany, recipe by Gustav Nebel in 1909, formerly Werther's Echte, renamed 1998, sold in over 100 countries.
Western dress codes
Western dress codes are the graded formality system from white tie and black tie through informal business attire, semi-formal, business casual, and casual, defining garments for each level and governing invitations, workplaces, and diplomacy worldwide.
Western saloon
A western saloon, also called an Old West saloon, was a nineteenth-century frontier drinking establishment, central to boomtowns, mining camps, and cattle towns from the 1860s to the 1890s.
Western use of the swastika in the early 20th century
The swastika (Sanskrit svastika, good fortune) was widely used in the early 20th century West as a good-luck symbol in design, scouting, and aviation before völkisch groups and Hitler's Nazi Party adopted it in 1920.
Western wear
Western wear: American dress style from ranch and vaquero work clothing, defined by yoked shirts, pearl snaps, cowboy boots, and hats; golden era 1930s-1970s, revived in 2026 fashion.
Westgate Resorts
Westgate Resorts is an American timeshare and hospitality company in Orlando, Florida, founded by David A. Siegel in 1982 with 16 villas near Walt Disney World.
Weston family
The Weston family of Canada, founders of George Weston Limited (1882), controls Loblaw and Choice Properties through private holding company Wittington Investments; a British branch built Associated British Foods and Primark.
Wet market
Wet market: a traditional fresh-food market where independent vendors sell perishables such as vegetables, meat, poultry, and seafood, kept cool with water and ice; also called traditional food markets, common across Asia, distinct from dry markets and supermarkets.
Wetherspoons
Wetherspoons (J D Wetherspoon plc, JDW) is a British pub chain founded by Tim Martin in 1979 in Muswell Hill, London. FTSE 250 managed-pub operator of 792 UK and Ireland pubs plus franchised sites, known for low prices, converted historic buildings, and its Curry Club.
Wetsuit
Wetsuit: neoprene garment trapping a body-warmed water layer for cold-water insulation, invented by Hugh Bradner (1951, UC Berkeley), never patented; 3–7 mm thickness by temperature, loses about 21.5% insulation at 5 m depth.
Whaikōrero
Whaikōrero is formal speech-making in Māori culture, the oratory delivered on the marae during pōwhiri, hui, and tangihanga, traditionally by male speakers called kaikōrero, with women serving as kaikaranga, the callers who welcome visitors.
Whakairo
Whakairo is the Māori art of carving in wood, bone, and stone, once done with stone tools and revived by a 20th-century renaissance of traditional carving.
Whakapapa
Whakapapa is the Māori term for genealogy, a line of descent from ancestors linking people to the land, the gods, and the universe, traditionally recited orally rather than written down.
Whale tail
Whale tail: the visible Y-shaped back of a thong or G-string above low-rise clothing; fashion slang from the late 1990s, peaking in the early 2000s with Britney Spears and Paris Hilton, revived since 2019 by Hailey Bieber and others.
Whataburger
Whataburger: Texas-founded fast-food hamburger chain (Corpus Christi, 1950, Harmon Dobson), known for quarter-pound made-to-order burgers, orange A-frame restaurants, Fancy Ketchup, and 2019 BDT Capital majority sale; roughly 1,180 locations in 17 states.
Whatchamacallit (candy)
Whatchamacallit is a Hershey candy bar introduced in 1978 as peanut butter crisp in chocolate, reformulated in 1987 with caramel and peanut-flavored crisps, and relabeled chocolate candy in 2008; spin-offs include Thingamajig and Whozeewhatzit.
Wheat beer
Wheat beer (Weissbier, Hefeweizen, Witbier) is beer brewed with a large wheat proportion alongside barley malt, often hazy. German law requires at least 50% wheat malt; banana-clove yeast character distinguishes Weissbier from spiced Belgian witbier and clean American wheat beer.
Wheaties
Wheaties is a flaked whole-wheat breakfast cereal made by General Mills, introduced in 1924 by the Washburn-Crosby Company and marketed since 1933 as "The Breakfast of Champions."
Where's the beef?
"Where's the beef?" is the 1984 Wendy's slogan spoken by Clara Peller in the "Fluffy Bun" commercial by Dancer Fitzgerald Sample; it became a national catchphrase, boosted Wendy's revenue 31% in 1984, and entered politics via Walter Mondale's debate jab at Gary Hart.
Whey
Whey is the liquid byproduct of cheesemaking, about 93% water with lactose, soluble proteins (β-lactoglobulin, α-lactalbumin), and minerals; processed into whey protein concentrate (34–80% protein) and isolate (90%+), once waste, now a prized, price-surging food ingredient.
Whey mineral concentrate
Whey mineral concentrate (GRN 52) is a milk-mineral powder from whey, used as a calcium source in beverages, foods, and dairy; FDA had no questions in 2001.
Whey protein isolate
Whey protein isolate (WPI) is a dairy ingredient, at least 90% protein by dry weight, made from cheese whey by membrane filtration or ion exchange; used in supplements, sports drinks, and protein-fortified foods, GRAS in the US since 2000.