Monkey Muffins!

I love watching M*A*S*H. It's a perfect balance of goofy humor and serious social commentary.

Colonel Potter is one of my favorite characters. He is the kind of authority figure I think anyone can respect. He takes his role seriously, but has good horse sense when it comes to dealing with people. Ideal characteristics for a commander and a doctor, or any kind of leader, for that matter.

One other aspect of Potter's character that I like is his old-fashioned politeness, even in his most gruff moments. This forces him to use the kind of verbal creativity sorely lacking among most of the rest of us when we are frustrated. Where most people would utter a tired string of hackneyed expletives, often referring to bovine excrement, Potter expresses anger forcefully, uniquely, and without compromising his character.

TV Acres lists some of his catchphrases:

"Horse Hockey!" - When the veteran military career officer Colonel Sherman Potter (Harry Morgan) got angry at his troops on the military comedy M*A*S*H/CBS/1972-83 he shouted phrases like "Horse Hockey!" But the power of his putdowns came mostly from his "bark" rather than his bite. The following is a select list of some of his best blusters and bravado: Buffalo Bagels!, Buffalo Chips!, Beaver Biscuits!, Bull Cookies!, Cow Cookies!, Geeze Louise!, Great Ceasar's Ghost!, Great Horse Hockey!, Mother McCree!, Mule Fritters!, Pigeon Pellets!, Pony Pucks!, Road Apples!, Sufferin' Sheepdip!, Sweet Limburger!, and What in the Name of Sam Hill!

You have to give the show's writers some creativity points here, I think.

But, you may not know that Monkey Muffins, another exclamation of Potter's are not only something certain zoo animals throw around. They are also a food.

A google search for the words "monkey muffins" yields some rather interesting recipes, including one called "Cheeky Monkey Muffins". 'Nuff said.