How did such a useful kitchen accessory earn such a lackadaisical name? There are several clues as to the etymology of this peculiar moniker. Tracing the origins of the device and the name lead us on different paths, and the name is a surprisingly modern invention.
Rotating trays have existed in kitchens around the world for centuries. They’re popularly used in Chinese restaurants, where they’re called cānzhuō zhuànpán or simply dinner-table turntables — pretty straightforward. But in the American kitchen, they boast an interesting name: lazy Susan.
Susan likely wasn’t a real person, despite what some folk etymologies say about Thomas Jefferson, who neither invented the lazy Susan nor had a daughter named Susan. Instead, this term likely stems from an 18th-century practice of using the name Susan as a generic title for a household servant. Because these trays make serving easier without the need for extra help, “lazy” was tacked on, perhaps as a marketing tactic.
According to a Q&A in the Chicago Tribune, one of the first published mentions of “lazy Susan” dates to an ad in a 1917 issue of Vanity Fair, specifically a Christmas promotion that highlighted household gifts. Here’s how the copywriter described this sensational kitchen device: “$8.50 forever seems an impossibly low wage for a good servant; and yet here you are; Lazy Susan, the cleverest waitress in the world, at your service!”
At that time, World War I was being waged across the Atlantic, and women in the U.S. were likely looking for ways to increase efficiency in their homes. It seems that a humble serving tray, one that cleverly rotates and bears a slightly off-putting name, was the answer to their troubles. We prefer the name lazy Susan to another hostess helper: the dumbwaiter. This unfortunately named tool is either “a portable serving table or stand often with revolving shelves arranged in tiers” or “a small elevator used for conveying food and dishes or small goods from one story of a building to another.”
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