Everyone in New Orleans will define lagniappe the same way, as “a little something extra”. The real meaning’s a bit more complicated than that. For example, the other day I ordered from on GrubHub. Every time you order, no matter what you order, they add in at least one of these mini-cupcakes they make for free. First off, they are delicious. Secondly, there’s no message about it, and you didn’t have to pay anything for it. It’s just there for your enjoyment. That’s lagniappe, that little something given to you for free that you weren’t expecting but is such a treat to find. This type of practice is common in New Orleans, but you rarely see it elsewhere outside of the extremely common baker’s dozen or the fortune cookie in Chinese restaurants, which, because they’re so common, are expected and therefore no longer really lagniappe.