Bologna is a smooth, mild-tasting sausage made from finely ground meat, usually beef, pork, or both. It's named after the Italian city of Bologna, where similar sausages originated centuries ago. In America, bologna became popular as an affordable lunch meat, often sliced thin and served in sandwiches.

The American version tastes quite different from Italian sausages. It has a soft, uniform texture and mild flavor that many kids recognize from school lunches. Some people love it fried in a pan until the edges get crispy, while others prefer it cold between two slices of white bread with mustard.

The word also appears in the slang phrase “that's bologna!” which means “that's nonsense!” or “I don't believe that!” If your friend claims they can run faster than a cheetah, you might respond, “Oh, bologna!”

You'll often see bologna spelled “baloney” when people use it to mean nonsense, though both spellings can be used for either meaning. The pronunciation is the same either way: buh-LOW-nee.