phrases - What does “a pretzel palace” mean?


Today’s New York Times picked up a line of the comment of Governor of California, Jerry Brown on California's tight budget, which calls for severe spending cuts to deal with a $15.7 billion shortfall as the Quotation of the Day. He said:


"It's a ‘pretzel palace’ of incredible complexity."


What did he mean by ‘a pretzel palace’? Does it mean a labyrinth winding like pretzel? Is it a popular phrase metaphorizing complexity of the issue?



Answer



"Pretzel palace" is not a popular phrase except as the name of several shops, mostly retailers of pretzels and other snacks; for example, Pretzel Palace in West Dundee, Illinois.


I don't know what Jerry Brown meant to say in "It's a ‘pretzel palace’ of incredible complexity". Many people have trouble understanding Jerry Brown, and it may be that he had no specific meaning in mind but thinks of typical pretzel patterns as quite complex. Such thinking is a mistake, as one can see from videos that show how simple it is to shape a pretzel.


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