It's a dilly!

     I don't know if any of you frequently buy the large dill pickles from barrels that they sell at delicatessen, but it's something that I do every so often, and wish I did more. Those pickles are delicious, but what I like aside from the pickle is the bag that accompanies the pickle. They are made of wax paper, and are often really funny/weird. Example:

     See what I mean? But this got me thinking this: the phrase "it's a pickle" is often used to say "this is a mystery" or "this is a tough situation," but maybe it became "it's a pickle" because it was initially "it's a dilly" and through the evolution of language it logically just became "it's a pickle," a dill being a kind of pickle. So, that was one theory, which after some quick OED research, proved to be wrong (the closest thing I found under "dill" was in the verb form: to conceal, hide, keep secret. Unfortunately, the most recent use of this is from circa AD 1300, so I ruled it out). So my other theory is correct, that some clever and comical dill pickle marketing firm chose to replace "pickle" in the common phrase with "dilly," most likely because it still has the same amount of syllables as "pickle," so as not to throw off the tongue with awkward changes, and also because the word "dilly" is kind of funny, especially combined with the visuals of a Sherlock Holmes-like detective standing on a large dill pickle peering through his magnifying glass. Actually, the real reason they probably chose "dilly," aside from the humor, is that, while describing the pickle inside, "dilly" also means: A delightful, remarkable, or excellent person or thing. Which the pickle inside surely was.