Food Terms We Loathe/Misuse

[Carlovski]

From living in England:

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'chip butty (ie?)" (the word 'butt' should not be associated with food. lol)

Pork Scratchings (ok. EWW. makes me think of dirty little toenails - from a pig)

"squash" for juice. (just darn wrong. what, are barefooted village women stomping on the oranges for my tropicana? Hmm...)

Also, it bugs me when people pronounce the H in 'herbs'. (Just makes me think of the Wendys guy)

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From North America:

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'finger lickin' good' (eek!)

scrumptious

Delish, of course.

crossanwich (blasphemy!)

Fun topic

I go the other way on the Herbs debate. It has a H in it, use it.

Squash is different to juice.

And don't knock the mighty chip butty (Just the thing to go with your faggots in gravy)

[sequim]

I am so sick of "my bad". I don't watch much TV and when I first read this in a post, I thought it was a typo. Then I started seeing it more and more. I'm assuming it came from some TV show or other. Do people realize how stupid it sounds? All the eGullet posts should have "my bad" excised from them.

[ghostrider]

This one isn't directly food related, but it does crop up on the International boards...

Native speakers of English describing foreign cities by their non-English names. 'Milano'. 'Venezia'. 'Roma'. To me it always looks like a misguided attempt to appear either a) sophisticated or b) culturally sensitive. Why use the Italian names for these cities in English?

I'm not sure that I see anything wrong with that. A lot of Americans don't know that Italian (for example) cities have their own Italian names. What's wrong with trying to spread a little knowledge of the world?

Granted, using the Italian names in the wrong context may cause one to appear a pretentious twit, but "always" misguided?

[Big Bunny]

In most cases, I think either name is appropriate - perhaps depending on context. But when poor Livorno gets turned into "Leghorn" you have to wonder.

BB

Edit for spelling.

Edited July 16, 2004 by Big Bunny (log)

[Busboy]

One is required to use the English word for foreign cities when discussing logistics, foreign policy and other serious subjects. One is allowed to use the local names when waxing romantic or nostalgic, or when speaking with a native speaker.

Right: After we made love, we stood on the balcony as the moonlight played on the Arno and gas lamps illuminated the back streets of Firenze.

Wrong: These plumbing fixtures were made in Firenze.

[eunny jang]

Mispronouncing espresso as "expresso"

Yes!! ARRRGGGH.

Oh, and:

Right: After we made love, we stood on the balcony as the moonlight played on the Arno and gas lamps illuminated the back streets of Firenze.

Wrong: These plumbing fixtures were made in Firenze.

Hahahah.

[JennyUptown]

One is required to use the English word for foreign cities when discussing logistics, foreign policy and other serious subjects. One is allowed to use the local names when waxing romantic or nostalgic, or when speaking with a native speaker.

Right: After we made love, we stood on the balcony as the moonlight played on the Arno and gas lamps illuminated the back streets of Firenze.

Wrong: These plumbing fixtures were made in Firenze.

Busboy strikes again!

[rancho_gordo]

Native speakers of English describing foreign cities by their non-English names. 'Milano'. 'Venezia'. 'Roma'. To me it always looks like a misguided attempt to appear either a) sophisticated or b) culturally sensitive. Why use the Italian names for these cities in English?

and the use of non-english words for foods that have a perfectly good english word all set up already and ready to use is a bit strange as well. probably done for the same reasons.

How is Turin easier to say than Torino? Milan is easier than Milano? I HATE the English versions! I think in the states we have so many immigrants that we never learn the pretend English versions, excepting a few.

I find that the English almost intentionally mispronounce foreign words. Pasta, cilantro come to mind.

On the other hand, I do not like that rocket has become arugula, celerey root is now celeraic and there must be more.

Being two faced, I don't mind that fresh coriander is cilantro.

Can I add a new word? Jalapeño. How come hal-i-pain-yo is now hal-i-pee-no?

[Mabelline]

Cuz no one pays attention.

[Pickles]

Mispronouncing espresso as "expresso"

Yes!! ARRRGGGH.

And another for me: "CAR-mull" or "Car-MEL" for CAR-A-MEL. It has three syllables people, let's use them!

[andiesenji]

I go the other way on the Herbs debate. It has a H in it, use it.

I am lining up with you on this one. I grew up in a household dominated by my very proper Victorian great grandmother, transplanted from England. Herbs were a great passion of hers. And the H was certainly pronounced clearly. I certainly would never had dared to drop it, I know I would have gotten a lecture about it.

In fact in certain parts of this country the H is pronounced. "Urb" just doesn't sound correct.

[reesek]

fire roasted. pan roasted.

[ruthcooks]

Forgot my biggest aversion: "tender-crisp"

If its tender, it ain't crisp; if its crisp, it ain't tender.

We should use the French "a point" meaning it's not crisp, it's not tender, it's at that perfect moment in between.

[jetsie]

It gives me the willies when people pronounce au jus as awe juice.

It must have been mentioned elsewhere, but KFC suddenly stands for kitchen-fresh chicken. What can that possibly mean? I know they're trying to avoid the dreaded F word, but kitchen fresh as opposed to what?

[Abby]

Of all the words listed (and they ALL make me want to fall upon my J.A. Henckles when I hear them) EVOO and mozz (as in the cheese) have to be the worst. Rachel Ray is the worst offender.

[chromedome]

This one isn't directly food related, but it does crop up on the International boards...

Native speakers of English describing foreign cities by their non-English names. 'Milano'. 'Venezia'. 'Roma'. To me it always looks like a misguided attempt to appear either a) sophisticated or b) culturally sensitive. Why use the Italian names for these cities in English?

Three exceptions are OK: i) if you're not a native speaker of English; ii) if the English version of the name is out-of-date or has been superseded (Constantinople, perhaps Leghorn); and iii) if the inhabitants of that place have specifically changed the name of their city because for (legitimate) political reasons (I'm thinking of Chennai, Kolkata, etc).

(Just to show I'm not a hypocrite: the word for my city - London - is different in most major languages, and I've got no problem with that.)

Calls to mind Mark Twain, in The Innocents Abroad, lampooning his fellow countrymen (and -women) who affected to have forgotten how to speak English during their three whole months in France...

[mags]

God, I'm just remembering how unbearably affected I was when I returned to the U.S. after living in the UK for a couple of years. Lorries and lifts and loos, oh my!

[viva]

It's funny how referring to European locations with their proper pronunciations (like "Firenze" vs. "Florence") sounds more affected than using proper pronunciation for non-European locations (e.g. "Mumbai" vs. "Bombay").

Now, to tie this all together with the topic, the only time "wiener" is ever appropriate is when one is referring to something of or from Vienna. And no, wiener schnitzel is not made from hot dogs. (And you never hear anyone in the US calling it "Wiens" instead of "Vienna"!)

Of course, there's the ubiquitous Vienna dogs brand in Chicago.

[ghostrider]

THis may be off topic - I can try to stretch & bring it in because the conversation I overheard involved Zagat's & the term "pizzaholic", which is all loathsome - but I was listening to 2 teen girls plotting their day in NYC on the train to Hoboken yesterday, and it occurred to me that there's an entire generation growing up in this country with exactly the same accent.

It doesn't seem to matter whether they're from Jersey or Maryland or Maine or Missouri, they all have what I think of as a nasal Valley Girl accent. I'm not sure if it really is Valley Girl but I have that impression.

Regional accents, perhaps outside of the deep South, seem to be dead.

Is this all due to TV & movies just further homogenizing our culture?

Anyway if that's too far off topic, I'll say it again - "pizzaholic" is "yucky"!

[NulloModo]

Ghostrider -

It may be because I live in a region that is pretty much free of a regional accent (eh, I guess we suffer slightly from the south philly effect) but I definately hear accents in people my age and younger from different areas of the country. Long Island, Midwest, extreme New England, all seem to come across.

[Daddy-A]

And another for me:  "CAR-mull" or "Car-MEL" for CAR-A-MEL.  It has three syllables people, let's use them! 

That's like "fill-um" for film! Drives me nuts!

Anything like "shrooms", "bloobs", "nanners", "ghetti" (unless you're my son @ 2 years old), "expresso" (thanks BBQchef - forgot that one), "martooni" (unless you're Dean Martin), "wobbly pop", "moo" (for milk ... as in Moolatte )

I'll stop here ... gettin irritated

DA

[ghostrider]

Ghostrider -

It may be because I live in a region that is pretty much free of a regional accent (eh, I guess we suffer slightly from the south philly effect) but I definately hear accents in people my age and younger from different areas of the country. Long Island, Midwest, extreme New England, all seem to come across.

That's encouraging.

I must admit that I get carried away with my crankiness sometimes. But after a wedding in Maryland a few weeks ago & hearing all the kids down there with the same accent as these girls on the train from far north Jersey, & hearing it spoken all over NYC, I was particularly conscious of it.

[zennenn]

I hear this more from gardeners, but how about "toms" or "maters" for tomatoes?

Both abbreviations are so unappealing I feel like ripping the tomato plants out of my garden whenever I hear or read them being used.

[SeaGal]

I really don't like "guac" or "guaco" for guacamole. It sounds so harsh and obnoxious.

Jan

[beccaboo]

Vegetables, no matter how well prepared are never succulent.

How about nopales?