What's a palaver?

Search: palaver

Why: In Les Miserables (the musical), in the song "Plumet's Attack" (which I would have called "Somebody's Here," because what is a plumet?):

What a palaver, what an absolute treat
To watch a cat and its father
Pick a bone in the street

Answer: A convo!

1. a : a long parley usually between persons of different cultures or levels or sophistication
2. b : conference, discussion
3. a : idle talk
4. b : misleading or beguiling speech
   

It comes from Latin parabola, "comparison" and then "speech, discourse" and then from the 1730s Portuguese sailor slang palavra, a traders' term for "negotiating with the natives" in West Africa.

Source: Merriam-Webster

The More You Know:

“…The Mayor, who was proud of Puddleby’s fame,
in a pompously, plummery voice would proclaim,
‘Pavlova, pavlova,
there’s nothing so nice –
as Official Town Taster, I’ll judge every slice!’

And patting his belly
he’d look round the crowd,
‘It brings us together,’ he’d say very loud...”

But all is not well in Puddleby Town. On the eve of their Annual Pavlova Bake-Off, the villagers make a shocking discovery. The essential ingredient has been EGGNAPPED! Where have all the eggs gone? What will happen on Bake-Off day? Can the villagers work together to save their eggs?