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I just wish Most of America would stop calling them biscuits. https://www.buzzfeed.com/lukebailey/scones-and-jizz https://www.buzzfeed.com/lukebailey/scones-an

I just wish Most of America would stop calling them biscuits. https://www.buzzfeed.com/lukebailey/scones-and-jizz https://www.buzzfeed.com/lukebailey/scones-and-jizz

PhasmaFelis 8y ago
Okay, but the Brits have systematically forgotten to pronounce the letter "H" in front of words except when it comes in front of "herbs", of all things. I dunno if we can trust you guys on matters of language!
- modernerd 8y ago
  The only time most Brits drop our Hs now is when doing an impression of an American doing an impression of John Lennon.
- simonbarker87 8y ago
  Perhaps in parts of Yorkshire otherwise I’m really struggling to think of what words I drop the H from. Americans saying ‘erbs confused me for years.
- benj111 8y ago
  Hey, I'm from Yorkshire and I don't pronounce any aitches, you stole the 'erb thing from us. The non aitch pronunciation thing isn't common though, unless your only experience of English is the new Dr Who.
- black-tea 8y ago
  We pronounce all of our H's including herb, hotel, hospital and any other word of French origin. It's Americans that bizarrely become French on matters of cuisine such as 'erbs and "bleu" cheese. If only the food itself was more like the French, eh? It's important to note that when pronouncing the letter H itself it does not begin with an H. Pronouncing it like "haitch" will make you sound uneducated in Britain.
  - vinay427 8y ago
    > If only the food itself was more like the French, eh? Do you mean if the herbs and bleu cheese were more like the French? Or food in the US in general, in which case I couldn't help but disagree?
- nindalf 8y ago
  I'm not English or American but it seems bizarre to see an American schooling the English on how Englsh should be pronounced.
  - TulliusCicero 8y ago
    Why? The modern American accent is closer to how both Americans and Brits talked before they split. Received Pronunciation is a fairly recent invention.
    - nindalf 8y ago
      "modern American accent"? Which one is that?
      - TulliusCicero 8y ago
        General American.
  - PhasmaFelis 8y ago
    I was just playing along with the joke in the article, pretending to be huffy that dialects exist. From the votes it looks like I misjudged my audience--people actually are huffy that dialects exist. Who knew?
ubernostrum 8y ago
And we wish you'd learn that not every Latin-derived word with a long "e" spelled it "oe" or "ae". And that you'd stop insisting on "dual carriageway" as a term for roads that have only ever existed in the age of internal combustion. And that you'd learn what a jumper actually is. And how to pronounce the letter "r". And that you'd understand that if you've "lost a stone" it means a jewel fell out of your ring, not that you're on a diet. And for that matter, that you'd pick a system of weights and measures and stick to it. And that you'd clarify whether there is in fact any type of food in existence that cannot somehow be classed as "pudding". And... well, shall we go on?
- tboughen 8y ago
  Dual carriageways don’t just carry motorised traffic. Bicycles can legally use them, even though cars will be travelling at up to 70mph. They are distinct to motorways, which also have a maximum speed of 70mph but a minimum speed (in free flowing traffic) of 50mph, making cycling illegal on them.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- black-tea 8y ago
  There's nothing special about dual carriageway. A carriageway is simply a way that is wide enough and smooth enough for a carriage to pass. It's still a useful distinction because cars have the same requirements, but "carway" sounds silly. The word road comes from the word ride which is still used today to refer to bridleways in Britain (for example, in Hyde Park: the North Ride and the South Ride). Road is therefore a much more general word and is used to refer to many more things than carriageways like railway lines, tunnels and even areas of water near shores. As for the other stuff, it's true that British and American have both diverged from a common root. The best example is with -ise or -ize endings. Neither is completely correct because some words originally had one and some had the other. The Oxford English Dictionary reflects the original endings in its spellings. But at some point Britain standardised on one and America standardised on the other. Maybe -ise looks nicer but -ize looks cooler? Who knows...
- tzaman 8y ago
black-tea 8y ago
British biscuits are closer to the original biscuits. The word biscuit means "twice cooked" (cuit is still French for cooked). This refers to the kind of biscuits that were taken on ships. They are made by first making a big cake, then chopping it up and cooking the pieces a second time to dry them out. Such biscuits are still popular with Afrikaaners in South Africa. Cook and cake have the same origin. Cookie just means "little cake" and therefore is completely correct in the way Americans use it. It just has a different origin to biscuit.
- chillidoor 8y ago
  >Such biscuits are still popular with Afrikaaners in South Africa. "Rusks", if anyone is curious. You dunk them into your tea or coffee to soften them before eating.
  - black-tea 8y ago
    Rusk is the English word but in Afrikaans (which comes from old Dutch) it's beskuit.
  - benj111 8y ago
    In the UK, a rusk is a particular kind of biscuit. Often given to children when they're teething.
    - Klover 8y ago
      This made me think that there are a million special purposes biscuits. One biscuit for teething children, one biscuit for stomach ache, a biscuit for graduation, and a biscuit for Lake District walks.
      - benj111 8y ago
        Well digestive biscuits are supposed to aid digestion. Kendal mint cake is for Lake district walks, so you don't need a biscuit. You do raise a good point about graduation though. I assume it would have to be non crumbly so you don't lose the deposit on your gown, and be able to soak up lots of alcohol.
deathanatos 8y ago
That article goes a bit overboard. Yes, we call a different thing biscuits. (I like our way, honestly, but then, I grew up with that.) What the article declares as "this is gravy, America" is what Americans call gravy. The white stuff, served atop biscuits is also gravy, usually disambiguated by calling it "country gravy". It's mostly a southern thing; my SO from New England gave it a good "WTF is that." the first time I ordered it and she saw it. (I may have ordered it specifically to see it get that reaction, but also b/c it's good.) But even in the south, we put normal, brown gravy on, e.g., turkey. Country gravy is different and goes well with different things, like chicken-fried steak. (And now I leave you to Google what that is. ;) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_fried_steak https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_fried_steak ) And don't get me started on the places that serve abnormally shaped, completely unseasoned, deep-fried tater-tots as "hash browns". Ugh.
- black-tea 8y ago
  The white gravy is what we would call white sauce in Britain, and close to what the French would call béchamel (although woe betide you if serve béchamel in France that isn't perfectly white). In the subcontinent gravy refers to any curry sauce, so there is at least one other well-established usage that differs from the British usage. For me, Southern American cuisine is very distinctive and unique so I give it free reign on whatever it wants to call things. I object only to some of the silly American names like "French fries" and "Russian dressing".
  - GordonS 8y ago
    The one time I tried biscuits and gravy in Texas, I was honestly pretty disgusted - the 'bisuits' were dry and bland, and the 'gravy' was... well, it was horrible. It was kind of like a really badly made bechamel - lumpy, a most unappetising colour (I'm colour blind, but I would have guessed grey), and with the strange additions of some kind of poor quality cheese, and lots and lots of sugar. Just... wrong. I hope I just had a bad rendition, but it has put me off for life.
    - sulam 8y ago

I just wish Most of America would stop calling them biscuits. https://www.buzzfeed.com/lukebailey/scones-and-jizz https://www.buzzfeed.com/lukebailey/scones-and-jizz

PhasmaFelis 8y ago

Okay, but the Brits have systematically forgotten to pronounce the letter "H" in front of words except when it comes in front of "herbs", of all things. I dunno if we can trust you guys on matters of language!

modernerd 8y ago
The only time most Brits drop our Hs now is when doing an impression of an American doing an impression of John Lennon.
simonbarker87 8y ago
Perhaps in parts of Yorkshire otherwise I’m really struggling to think of what words I drop the H from. Americans saying ‘erbs confused me for years.
benj111 8y ago
Hey, I'm from Yorkshire and I don't pronounce any aitches, you stole the 'erb thing from us. The non aitch pronunciation thing isn't common though, unless your only experience of English is the new Dr Who.
black-tea 8y ago
We pronounce all of our H's including herb, hotel, hospital and any other word of French origin. It's Americans that bizarrely become French on matters of cuisine such as 'erbs and "bleu" cheese. If only the food itself was more like the French, eh? It's important to note that when pronouncing the letter H itself it does not begin with an H. Pronouncing it like "haitch" will make you sound uneducated in Britain.
- vinay427 8y ago
  > If only the food itself was more like the French, eh? Do you mean if the herbs and bleu cheese were more like the French? Or food in the US in general, in which case I couldn't help but disagree?
nindalf 8y ago
I'm not English or American but it seems bizarre to see an American schooling the English on how Englsh should be pronounced.
- TulliusCicero 8y ago
  Why? The modern American accent is closer to how both Americans and Brits talked before they split. Received Pronunciation is a fairly recent invention.
  - nindalf 8y ago
    "modern American accent"? Which one is that?
    - TulliusCicero 8y ago
      General American.
- PhasmaFelis 8y ago
  I was just playing along with the joke in the article, pretending to be huffy that dialects exist. From the votes it looks like I misjudged my audience--people actually are huffy that dialects exist. Who knew?

ubernostrum 8y ago

And we wish you'd learn that not every Latin-derived word with a long "e" spelled it "oe" or "ae". And that you'd stop insisting on "dual carriageway" as a term for roads that have only ever existed in the age of internal combustion. And that you'd learn what a jumper actually is. And how to pronounce the letter "r". And that you'd understand that if you've "lost a stone" it means a jewel fell out of your ring, not that you're on a diet. And for that matter, that you'd pick a system of weights and measures and stick to it. And that you'd clarify whether there is in fact any type of food in existence that cannot somehow be classed as "pudding". And... well, shall we go on?

tboughen 8y ago
Dual carriageways don’t just carry motorised traffic. Bicycles can legally use them, even though cars will be travelling at up to 70mph. They are distinct to motorways, which also have a maximum speed of 70mph but a minimum speed (in free flowing traffic) of 50mph, making cycling illegal on them.
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
black-tea 8y ago
There's nothing special about dual carriageway. A carriageway is simply a way that is wide enough and smooth enough for a carriage to pass. It's still a useful distinction because cars have the same requirements, but "carway" sounds silly. The word road comes from the word ride which is still used today to refer to bridleways in Britain (for example, in Hyde Park: the North Ride and the South Ride). Road is therefore a much more general word and is used to refer to many more things than carriageways like railway lines, tunnels and even areas of water near shores. As for the other stuff, it's true that British and American have both diverged from a common root. The best example is with -ise or -ize endings. Neither is completely correct because some words originally had one and some had the other. The Oxford English Dictionary reflects the original endings in its spellings. But at some point Britain standardised on one and America standardised on the other. Maybe -ise looks nicer but -ize looks cooler? Who knows...
tzaman 8y ago

black-tea 8y ago

British biscuits are closer to the original biscuits. The word biscuit means "twice cooked" (cuit is still French for cooked). This refers to the kind of biscuits that were taken on ships. They are made by first making a big cake, then chopping it up and cooking the pieces a second time to dry them out. Such biscuits are still popular with Afrikaaners in South Africa. Cook and cake have the same origin. Cookie just means "little cake" and therefore is completely correct in the way Americans use it. It just has a different origin to biscuit.

chillidoor 8y ago
>Such biscuits are still popular with Afrikaaners in South Africa. "Rusks", if anyone is curious. You dunk them into your tea or coffee to soften them before eating.
- black-tea 8y ago
  Rusk is the English word but in Afrikaans (which comes from old Dutch) it's beskuit.
- benj111 8y ago
  In the UK, a rusk is a particular kind of biscuit. Often given to children when they're teething.
  - Klover 8y ago
    This made me think that there are a million special purposes biscuits. One biscuit for teething children, one biscuit for stomach ache, a biscuit for graduation, and a biscuit for Lake District walks.
    - benj111 8y ago
      Well digestive biscuits are supposed to aid digestion. Kendal mint cake is for Lake district walks, so you don't need a biscuit. You do raise a good point about graduation though. I assume it would have to be non crumbly so you don't lose the deposit on your gown, and be able to soak up lots of alcohol.

deathanatos 8y ago

That article goes a bit overboard. Yes, we call a different thing biscuits. (I like our way, honestly, but then, I grew up with that.) What the article declares as "this is gravy, America" is what Americans call gravy. The white stuff, served atop biscuits is also gravy, usually disambiguated by calling it "country gravy". It's mostly a southern thing; my SO from New England gave it a good "WTF is that." the first time I ordered it and she saw it. (I may have ordered it specifically to see it get that reaction, but also b/c it's good.) But even in the south, we put normal, brown gravy on, e.g., turkey. Country gravy is different and goes well with different things, like chicken-fried steak. (And now I leave you to Google what that is. ;) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_fried_steak https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_fried_steak ) And don't get me started on the places that serve abnormally shaped, completely unseasoned, deep-fried tater-tots as "hash browns". Ugh.

black-tea 8y ago
The white gravy is what we would call white sauce in Britain, and close to what the French would call béchamel (although woe betide you if serve béchamel in France that isn't perfectly white). In the subcontinent gravy refers to any curry sauce, so there is at least one other well-established usage that differs from the British usage. For me, Southern American cuisine is very distinctive and unique so I give it free reign on whatever it wants to call things. I object only to some of the silly American names like "French fries" and "Russian dressing".
- GordonS 8y ago
  The one time I tried biscuits and gravy in Texas, I was honestly pretty disgusted - the 'bisuits' were dry and bland, and the 'gravy' was... well, it was horrible. It was kind of like a really badly made bechamel - lumpy, a most unappetising colour (I'm colour blind, but I would have guessed grey), and with the strange additions of some kind of poor quality cheese, and lots and lots of sugar. Just... wrong. I hope I just had a bad rendition, but it has put me off for life.
  - sulam 8y ago