I really liked this! I'm Australian and we use a combination of the two:
We say biscuits, toffee apple, coriander, beetroot, broad bean & pawpaw same as the Poms, and we say Zucchini, Eggplant, Canola, English Muffin, Cupcake (although as a child we called them fairy cakes) the same as the Yanks. BUT we call Fries "Hot Chips" and Crisps "Chips", we call Fizzy Drink "Soft Drink", we call Cotton Candy "Fairy Floss" and we call Popsicles "Icy Poles" or "Ice Blocks". I'm sure other English speaking countries also have some interesting answers!
Yeah we also call fizzy drink "cool drink". I had no idea lava beans were broad beans, I used to wonder what Hannibal Lecter was talking about……ffvv ffvv ffvv ffvv!!!
I wouldn't say any of those were American influences. They likely come from the same source the Americans got them from. For instance, zucchini is clearly Italian. Lots of Italians and Greeks in Australia.
In my area of the US people very often call soda "soft drinks" as well, it's more common in the US than you may think! Also, some old folks where I grew up still simply say "drink," as in "Would you like lemonade, tea, or a drink?"
In Australia Chips are not called Hot Chips, If you went into a Fish & Chip shop and asked for 'Hot Chips' you would get a strange look and a smart remark.
In England it is called 'Middle Bacon', sometimes 'green' if not smoked or otherwise 'Smoked' The middle is a side of pork minus the long leg and the shoulder.
American muffins are more like cupcakes. They are usually sweet, and often have fruit and/or nuts or bran mixed into the batter. They are more of a breakfast food rather than dessert. English muffins are flat yeast rolls that are sliced, revealing large holes, and their cooking pans are spread with cornmeal, some of which remains on the top and bottom. They are the bread used in Egg McMuffins and Eggs Benedict.
Sorry but no, they aren't. English muffins are just as ander217 describes them, a kind of bready roll. Crumpets are completely different, completely weird, completely delicious and you'd be very hard pushed to slice them in half.
but how many times have you had to write it down, other than maybe on a shopping list ? who cares what you write on a list only you will read... my list may include cheez, mushies, eggz, cow juice,... i know what i want...lol
In Australia most people know this fruit as Paw Paw but two kinds of papayas are commonly grown. One has sweet, red or orange flesh, and the other has yellow flesh; in Australia, these are called "red papaya" and "yellow papaw", respectively
I think there's a distinction in the UK between a fairy cake and a cupcake. The absolute monstrosities with plenty of icing on top is undoubtedly a cupcake, but I would call the smaller version with just a drizzle of icing, a fairy cake.
In the north of England, fairy cakes are usually called 'buns', but I've definitely heard 'fairy cake'. I've only ever heard 'cupcake' used of ones that look sickeningly American
As an Australian, in most cases this was more of a test of translating American terms than the British ones, which more often than not are the ones we use (except for 'courgette' and 'aubergine' - no need to get all fancy and French).
I think that 'Crumpet' is English for the American's idea of English Muffin, has little holes in the top (for butter and syrup) and is usually toasted.
From what I understand. In British English the word "corn" is slang for whatever is the commonly grown grain in the area. So depending on the area of England you are in you can have wheat, maize, oats or barley referred to as corn.
Originally corn did use to mean (seeds from) all sorts of cereal plants. Later it became used for the dominant crop in the region (in case of the us, for maize). But this was in old english so centuries ago. Some other germanic languages do still use the words. Korn in german and koren in dutch still mean what corn used to mean in old english.
the word kernel is related btw. Corn didnt just used go refer to the crops but more specifically the seeds. (Like grain). Just think of core.
Whaaaat? No no no no. Corn grows on a cob and that is how it is eaten: on the cob. Some people eat it as sweetcorn, with the kernels already lifted from the cob and frozen or preserved in cans/tins. But corn is never, not ever, wheat, oats or barley. A barleycorn, however, may also refer to a grain of corn.
I believe idontkn1 and Sifhraven are correct. As children we used the word 'corn' for any cereal crop and quite a few English folk songs and poems refer to cutting corn in places where maize just wasn't grown in times gone by.
I am Australian, but have spent time living in both the US and the UK, and because of that, didn't have too much trouble. The one that I did get stuck on, was Toffee Apple, which is a term we also use in Australia, but in the US, I only ever saw caramel apples, which are obviously different.
Try this quiz, it will test your knowledge of the groceries we buy in the land down under. https://www.jetpunk.com/user-quizzes/222845/most-common-grocery-foods-australia
Really?! I'm American too but from the South (mid-Atlantic) and no one I know says ice pop. We all say Popsicle. Just goes to show how different we all are.
Try this quiz, it will test your knowledge of the groceries we buy in the land down under. https://www.jetpunk.com/user-quizzes/222845/most-common-grocery-foods-australia
I'm English and would say baked potato rather than jacket potato (although people definitely use that term). Also corn rather than maize, papaya rather than pawpaw and bacon rather than back bacon.
In my bit of England, a muffin is a type of flat bread roll ideal for slicing and turning into a sandwich and a crumpet is the bready thing with holes that you have toasted with oodles of butter. A soft drink is any cold, non-alcoholic drink whether fizzy or flat. Fairy cakes are tiny little sweet buns with icing on top, not much more than a mouthful. Love all the regional differences :)
the "muffin" one seems inapt as muffin is used both to refer to what Americans would call a "muffin" as well as an "English muffin", so "muffin" as an answer wouldn't be wrong (though as it is, appending the word "English" isn't that enlightening anyway)
We say biscuits, toffee apple, coriander, beetroot, broad bean & pawpaw same as the Poms, and we say Zucchini, Eggplant, Canola, English Muffin, Cupcake (although as a child we called them fairy cakes) the same as the Yanks. BUT we call Fries "Hot Chips" and Crisps "Chips", we call Fizzy Drink "Soft Drink", we call Cotton Candy "Fairy Floss" and we call Popsicles "Icy Poles" or "Ice Blocks". I'm sure other English speaking countries also have some interesting answers!
Somewhat surprised cold on the cob was not on the quiz.
the word kernel is related btw. Corn didnt just used go refer to the crops but more specifically the seeds. (Like grain). Just think of core.
We don't use the term pawpaw we say papaya
Muffin as a term for a bread roll, very much depends are where you are from, but if we specifically mean English Muffin we sat English muffin
Also what you call corn, we call sweetcorn not maize
For anyone not from the UK who is looking to visit do not use the above three terms
Pawpaw noone will know what you are saying
'Muffin' for bread will get you into a long debate that you don't have time for
And maize will confuse people greatly
Also then what is "pawpaw" called in the UK or is its existence not acknowledged?
Chips - thick-cut, like the kind you get in the fish and chip shop
Fries/French Fries - thin, like the kind you get in McDonald's
Crisps - super thin, crunchy, comes in a sealed plastic bag
These are three different things. We do not use the word chips to talk about fries. We call fries fries, chips chips and crisps crisps.