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Apple-pie bed

Posted by Pamela on April 13, 2007

In Reply to: Apple-pie bed posted by Gary Martin on April 13, 2007

: : Origin/meaning of: to 'apple pie' a bed?

: The meaning is easy - it's a bed in which a single sheet is folded to appear to be both the top and bottom sheets. The effect of the practical joke is that people can't get their legs more than half-way down the bed.

: The origin is more difficult. Brewer's Dictionary suggests that it is from the French 'a nap-pe-pli' - derived from the French for folded sheet, 'nappe pliée'. Others say it derives from 'apple turnover', although if that were the case, why wouldn't it be called an 'apple turnover bed'?

I've never heard "apple pie bed" although the explanation makes sense for what I know as "short sheet" - i.e. let's short-sheet her bed! Pamela

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