what's an eye of newt?

Question

won't Newt be upset at that?

Answer 1

Its an ingredient for a yummy concoction made famous from Shakespeare 's Macbeth. BTW - a newt is sorta like a salamander but more amphibious.

Answer 2

The newt is an immature version of a salamander.

But a salamander, in the mystical magical sense, is a lizardy thing that lives in fires. Not much like the little slimy amphibians you see in the woods sometimes.

I don't know if the eye of newt was from the real or the mystical salamander, for a spell's sake. I think the mystical kind would be much harder to get, what with the living in fire and all. So it would be a much more valuable ingredient.

Answer 3

Newts are small, usually bright-coloured semiaquatic salamanders of North America, Europe & North Asia, distinguished from other salamanders by the lack of rib or costal grooves along the sides of the body. Also, newts have the ability to regenerate limbs, eyes & spinal cords. Hence, the eye of a newt is an eye of a certain type of salamander. Don't worry, they won't be too upset with you sense they can regenerate their eyes

Answer 4

Along with the great answers about the real and mythical newt, I've also heard rumors that some of the "ickier" ingredients for witches' brews, like the one from MacBeth, were exotic names for herbal ingredients... like "tongue of dog" might be the tongue of a dogwood bloom. FWIW.

ETA - I found my notes (not the source) that said fingers and wings of things were probably the leaves of certain plants, and toes of things were probably the roots of certain plants. Like "bat's wing" would be a holly leaf (consider the shape). Under that theory, "eye of newt" could be the round center of a flower, like a daisy.

OR it could be the eye of an actual salamander/newt :-)

Answer 5

A newt is an amphibian. Eye of newt is the eye of a newt. A person named Newt probably won't care, unless he is a PETA member. The newt probably won't be too happy about it.

Answer 6

No, they are known for their spiritual gift. Related to the salamanders. Their eyes are very powerful to those who are witches. Newts eyes can heal wounds, too.

Answer 7

"Eye of newt, and toe of frog,
Wool of bat, and tongue of dog,
Adder's fork, and blind-worm's sting,
Lizard's leg, and howlet's wing,--
For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble."

--From Macbeth (IV, i, 14-15)


Sir Bedevere: What makes you think she's a witch?
Peasant 3: Well, she turned me into a newt!
Sir Bedevere: A newt?
Peasant 3: [meekly after a long pause] ... I got better.
Crowd: [shouts] Burn her anyway!

Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)

Answer 8

"eye of newt" is a folk name for any of the "eyed flowers" such as black-eyed susan, daisy etc...many "witches brews" that call for exotic ingrediants are merely folknames for common herbs & flowers.

vaughn: "tounge of dog" is actually a folk name for hounds tounge(Cygnoglossum officinale)

Answer 9

Newt is a small amphibian.... Not Gingrich, as your post suggests.

Answer 10

its probably dead