Oh, you crazy Brits.... I need help understanding our language difference.

[BannedInSchool]

Yes :D
Crisps, wedges, fries. They're all the same name in Australia

So do you call your sheep fries "sheep chips"?

Unsure about Britain, but in Australia they're all just "Softdrink". Coke & Cola are specific brands/flavours and 'pop' is something that a bubble does :)

"Coke" is both a brand in the US and the generic term for soft drinks in the Southeast, particularly around Atlanta where Coke(tm) was invented.

I'm hesitant to inquire about sourdough english muffins. Ha.

[Kittenwolf]

So do you call your sheep fries "sheep chips"?

A bad dare?
I actually had to look that one up, and I've never heard of them over here but I'd say it'd just be 'lamb's testicles'.
"Lamb's Fry" here is liver...

[TheThan]

"Coke" is both a brand in the US and the generic term for soft drinks in the Southeast, particularly around Atlanta where Coke(tm) was invented.

Yeah I forgot to mention that. Some people refer to any softdrink as a coke, it's like calling all copy machines Xerox or all cotton swabs q-tips. it's often quite regional (as is the most popular brand of soft drink).

[BannedInSchool]

A bad dare?
I actually had to look that one up, and I've never heard of them over here but I'd say it'd just be 'lamb's testicles'.

Seemed to me to be a practical development of ranching. When it's that time of year to castrate the young animals you end up with a harvest and think, "Well, let's not just throw them out. Let's try them breaded and fried!". With Australia being a nation of convicts turned sheep ranchers (I'm just teasing) I thought it'd be common there too. "Fries" also seems to be a polite culinary term. "Duck fries" made an Iron Chef America episode. Ducks also have friggin' huge testicles.

[Peelee]

Some people refer to any softdrink as a coke

I like to call those people "correct."

[factotum]

Yeah I forgot to mention that. Some people refer to any softdrink as a coke, it's like calling all copy machines Xerox or all cotton swabs q-tips. it's often quite regional (as is the most popular brand of soft drink).

I've heard fizzy drinks in general be referred to as "pop" or "fizzy". If a British person says "Coke" then they're referring to that specific style of drink (although they may mean Pepsi, Coca-Cola or supermarket own brand), it hasn't become a generic term for all fizzy drinks. "Soda" most often refers to specifically fizzy water and is rarely used as a generic term where I come from, though there may well be parts of the country where that's different.

[golentan]

I like to call those people "correct."

Then you sir, are as incorrect as they are. Coke is the brand. Cola is the flavor. Soda or Pop or Softdrink is the style of beverage.

[Hiro Protagonest]

That's probably buttermilk biscuits, which are leavened and savory and I would compare to a dense french bread in texture and flavor more than scones, which are completely different, and are commonly served with sausage gravy (which isn't the best, being made from drippings from bacon or sausage and combined with milk, flour, and pepper I find it overly salty and insufficiently gravy, and it does look kinda like baby vomit).

Yeah. Sausage gravy is completely different from other gravy. =/

[Heliomance]

so what do British people call soft drinks?

cokes? colas? soda? pop? soda pop?

Personally, fizzy drinks. Soft drinks to me refers to any non-alcoholic beverage (though admittedly, it primarily gets used for fizzy drinks. Using it for juice etc is technically correct but can lead to confusion, depending on context).

Coke and cola, especially the latter, are generic terms for the particular type of drink of which Coca-Cola is an example, as mentioned above. "Pop" is pretty much completely unused as a term, except for Panda Pops which are a particular brand of luridly coloured and probably high sugar flavoured fizzy drink popular at school discos and the like. I imagine they're part of most Brits' childhoods, but virtually unknown in adulthood - I suspect they only distribute through wholesalers and bulk-buy places.

[SouthpawSoldier]

As an Oregonian descended from stick in the mud Missouri folk, I take exception to disparaging remarks about my beloved sawmill & red eye. I prefer the former; a staple growing up was creamed spinach sawmill over buttermilk drop biscuits (not flaky like cut biscuits; drops are crumbly and hefty). Stick to the ribs food, good to keep you going during a day splitting and stacking wood, repairing fences, hoeing, and bucking hay. For relatively low-calorie lifestyles (*cough* city-slickers) I can somewhat understand turning the nose, but you'd keel over by noon if you tried to work on nothing but a bagel and hardboiled egg, or a quiche, or crepes. That's snacking material for farm folk.

[Heliomance]

you'd keel over by noon if you tried to work on nothing but a bagel and hardboiled egg, or a quiche, or crepes. That's snacking material for farm folk.

That's another thing I don't understand about American terminology - you call all boiled eggs "hard boiled". It's only hard boiled if it's cooked until the yolk is solid. If the yolk is still liquid, it's soft boiled.

If the white is still partly liquid, it's "chelsea", for reasons that I've never understood.

[Kittenwolf]

Just for full breakdown, in Australia:
Coke - Explicitly Coca Cola only (no, not even Pepsi)
Cola - The flavour of softdrink and a dark blackish-brown colour. Cola/Pepsi/Home brand stuff are all this flavour
Softdrink - Catch all term for carbonated, sweet drinks (ie, lemonade, lemon squash, cola, fanta, etc etc)
Soda - Soda water. ie, carbonated water with no flavouring or sugar
Fizzy drink - Not a term we use, but people will know what you mean
Pop - Will get you funny looks, only someone very familiar with overseas terminology will know what you're talking about

[SouthpawSoldier]

That's another thing I don't understand about American terminology - you call all boiled eggs "hard boiled". It's only hard boiled if it's cooked until the yolk is solid. If the yolk is still liquid, it's soft boiled.

If the white is still partly liquid, it's "chelsea", for reasons that I've never understood.

I've always differentiated between the two; never known someone to call a soft-boiled egg hard. Then again, growing up we never had soft-boiled eggs. Eggs Benedict wasn't experienced until I was an adult. Usually, eggs were boiled in such large batches one couldn't spare the attention required to pull them at the soft-boiled stage.

As far as beverages; "soft" means non-alcoholic, but generally is reserved for sodas. Coke is a brand. Carbonated water is either "soda water" or "club soda"; only "seltzer" in the bottles on Saturday morning 'toons.

[Bulldog Psion]

That's another thing I don't understand about American terminology - you call all boiled eggs "hard boiled". It's only hard boiled if it's cooked until the yolk is solid. If the yolk is still liquid, it's soft boiled.

If the white is still partly liquid, it's "chelsea", for reasons that I've never understood.

Hard-boiled (or hard-cooked) means "the yolk is hard" to me and everyone else I've ever run into in the States; similarly, soft-boiled (or soft-cooked) means "liquid yolk." Not sure what region the people you've encountered come from, but it sure isn't anywhere in the U.S. I've ever been. Sounds like some obscure corner of the South, maybe.

If the white is still partly liquid, though, my name for it is, "ugh, what's this disgusting mucus, how did I not cook it long enough???"

[Peelee]

Then you sir, are as incorrect as they are. Coke is the brand. Cola is the flavor. Soda or Pop or Softdrink is the style of beverage.

I realize this. However, i also google things, put band-aids on minor cuts and scratches, q-tip my ears, and take an aspirin when i get a headache.

Genericide is fun.

Also, cola is technically not the flavor, since "Coca-Cola" is the brand. "Coke" is part of the brand name of Diet Coke.

Cola is now recognized as a flavor, but named after the first brand name. The recognizable base flavor of any normal coke is (surprisingly) vanilla and cinnamon, according to my research.

[comicshorse]

so what do British people call soft drinks?

cokes? colas? soda? pop? soda pop?

Either by the specific type it is (especially with coca cola which will be a 'coke') or as 'soft drinks', very occasionally ( and usually by kids as 'pop' and I've never heard an english person use 'soda' or 'soda pop'

[Prime32]

so what do British people call soft drinks?

cokes? colas? soda? pop? soda pop?

Soft drinks. Fizzy drinks (with Fanta and similar drinks being "fizzy orange" or just "orange"). In Ireland, sometimes "minerals".

If you call a lemonade a Coke, people are going to look at you like you're crazy.

The recognizable base flavor of any normal coke is (surprisingly) vanilla and cinnamon, according to my research.

I'd heard it was cinnamon and lime.

[Capt Spanner]

"Pop" is pretty much completely unused as a term

"Pop" is the common term in Yorkshire (and maybe other places oop North) for fizzy drinks.

[Peelee]

If you call a lemonade a Coke, people are going to look at you like you're crazy.

I'd heard it was cinnamon and lime.

I've never heard of people calling lemonade a coke. That's too far even around here. And my research was mostly wikipedia.

Anyway, I don't think anything like this was made for the UK, but is the concept similar? Several varying names for things that are more or less region specific?

[BannedInSchool]

Just for full breakdown, in Australia:
Pop - Will get you funny looks, only someone very familiar with overseas terminology will know what you're talking about

Sure it's not the accent throwing them?

[Peelee]

Speaking of accents, how do American accents sound in other countries? Is it just kind of flatter than the native speech, or what?

Assume for this purpose that the American accent is that of the average Hollywood actor, and not really tied into any specific region.

[BannedInSchool]

Speaking of accents, how do American accents sound in other countries? Is it just kind of flatter than the native speech, or what?

Based on some mocking imitations I've heard, we sound like growling dogs. Heh.

Ah, that also reminds me of an old black and white Doctor Who episode I saw. I was really confused about a character, wondering what it meant that he had what sounded like an attempt at a posh New England accent, but I settled on that he was just supposed to be American.

[TheThan]

Cola is now recognized as a flavor, but named after the first brand name. The recognizable base flavor of any normal coke is (surprisingly) vanilla and cinnamon, according to my research.

I'd heard it was cinnamon and lime.

Hrrm don’t see (or taste) the cinnamon or lime, but the vanilla I can imagine. Coke in the states has a moderate malt flavor to it. Pepsi (its main competitor) is more sugary tasting and much sweeter. I actually prefer mexi-coke (Mexican coke), which comes in 16oz glass bottles and is made from real cane sugar not high fructose corn syrup. Which is the proper way to serve any soft drink.

Any off brand cola is going to be a mixed bag, your mileage will totally vary.

If you call a lemonade a Coke, people are going to look at you like you're crazy.

Yeah, trying that in the USA will lead to the same thing. Lemonades, teas, Juices and coffee are all considered their own separate categories. If you want coffee order coffee, which is its own subculture nowadays (I just get mine black and strong enough to float a horseshoe). So if you want lemonade order lemonade.

[Wardog]

so what do British people call soft drinks?

cokes? colas? soda? pop? soda pop?

In the UK, "soft drink" means any non-alcoholic drink.

Coke / cola / lemonade / 7-Up / etc are collectively called "fizzy drinks", at least in the South. (Other parts of the country may have different names).

"Coke" is often used to mean any cola.

Note that in the UK, "lemonade" by defaul means "clear, carbonated, sweetened, lemon-flavored soft drink, similar to the lemon-lime sodas sold in the U.S" [wikipedia]. What Americans call "lemonade" would normally be called something like "traditional lemonade" in the UK.

[Peelee]

Huh. I kind of want an English lemonade now. That sounds interesting, and even if it's pretty close to Sprite-like drinks, that's a good flavor regardless.

And I wholeheartedly agree on Mexi-Cokes. Those are delightful.

[golentan]

As an Oregonian descended from stick in the mud Missouri folk, I take exception to disparaging remarks about my beloved sawmill & red eye. I prefer the former; a staple growing up was creamed spinach sawmill over buttermilk drop biscuits (not flaky like cut biscuits; drops are crumbly and hefty). Stick to the ribs food, good to keep you going during a day splitting and stacking wood, repairing fences, hoeing, and bucking hay. For relatively low-calorie lifestyles (*cough* city-slickers) I can somewhat understand turning the nose, but you'd keel over by noon if you tried to work on nothing but a bagel and hardboiled egg, or a quiche, or crepes. That's snacking material for farm folk.

Being from Misery... I'm sorry, Missouri myself, my objection to Sawmill is the salt content, not the calories! The taste is the problem! I've had so many delicious fried thinks I lost count: I've had deep fried ice cream, which everyone initially thinks is impossible. I've had Deep Fried Ravioli, a food that folks out here in california think I made up! I've had delicious Pasties and other forms of hand pie, I love sausage and bacon and buttermilk biscuits (and your mention of drop biscuits, take a look at my most beloved type of biscuit earlier in the thread), and so many other lovely foods!

Sawmill gravy is an abomination unto the good old comfort foods I love. Though it's better than Pepper gravy/southern gravy without the sausage. It's salty and gross and tastes like sausage mixed with despair and bad milk.

Biscuits and gravy are great, but please could we move to turkey gravy? Turkey gravy is real gravy. Or mushroom gravy, or beef, even, but turkey's my fave. Drizzle it on stuffing, or sandwiches, mop it up with a good biscuit... Mmmm...

[Heliomance]

Huh. I kind of want an English lemonade now. That sounds interesting, and even if it's pretty close to Sprite-like drinks, that's a good flavor regardless.

And I wholeheartedly agree on Mexi-Cokes. Those are delightful.

We have Sprite. It does indeed come under the heading of lemonade. Cloudy lemonade (generally translucent yellow, actually tastes of lemon) is a far nicer flavour, less artificial, but not as useful for mixing.

[Telonius]

"Cookies" generally refers to "those round things with chocolate chips that come from America".
EDIT: This might help.

Why do Americans use the term "dog biscuit" rather than "dog cookie", anyway?

It might be a more regional explanation (I'm from northwest Pennsylvania). When I was growing up, "biscuit" always meant a sort of very dry bread product that people allegedly ate in the South, that was basically inedible until you soaked it in mounds of gravy. Kind of like a dumpling (the "chicken and dumplings" kind of dumpling) except for some reason baked directly in the oven. I always figured the "inedible" part of it is why dog biscuits were called that.

Since I moved to Northern Virginia, I've learned a bit more what a biscuit is actually supposed to taste like. Now that I think about it, I don't think I've heard the term "dog biscuit" in years; they mainly call them "dog treats" or just "treats."

[Peelee]

....While I'm sure some people's cooking skills are subpar enough to make that true, southern biscuits and gravy are made with normal, good-tastin' biscuits. And gravy, of course.

[factotum]

There are a wide range of region-specific names for things in the UK, just as there is a wide range of accents. For instance, where I live soft white bread rolls are often referred to as "barms" or "barm cakes" (no, I don't know why they're called cakes either).

Also note that regular Coca-cola and Pepsi in the UK use proper sugar, not high fructose corn syrup, so they probably taste somewhat different than the American recipe.