GORPING GORP

Gorp is a common word in North American camping and hiking slang describing a combination of nuts, dried fruits, and sometimes candy. Basically, trail mix. Most people assert that it's an acronym for good old raisins and peanuts (two common ingredients of the mixture). Some others claim granola, oats, raisin, and peanuts is the origin, or something else along those lines. However, etymologists aren't even sure it's an acronym at all. For one, there is evidence of gorp being a verb meaning "eat quickly" as far back as the 1910s, way before the food was popularized. Acronym explanations for etymologies are also frequently erroneous, so not much stock should be put into the common interpretation. Despite that murky origin, though, usage of gorp is on the rise these days, probably due to the increased interest in hiking in recent years.