Telling time in U. K. English

[Bookworm_Girl]

Originally Posted by SeaBookGuy

I once worked in a small office, and my boss would eat sandwiches with butter, instead of mayo/mustard, claiming she was used to that from her Danish-American upbringing? Since you're over there every so often, ever tried one of those "chip butties" (as far as I can make out they're something like a sub roll filled with french fries)?

No, I've never seen that, although bacon butties are pretty common. Sounds very sinful. My belief is that extra calories are best consumed on dessert, like sticky toffee pudding or berry crumble with custard!

Originally Posted by elcreative

Because that's the way the sandwich was provided to Lord Sandwich when he requested a snack at the card table...

Are you just teasing me, elcreative? The stories usually just say he asked for meat and bread. Would bread have been assumed to be buttered in that time period? My mom used to butter bread for tuna mayo sandwiches (or tuna salad as we say) when I was a kid, supposedly so the bread wouldn't get soggy in my lunch-box.

[elcreative]

Originally Posted by Bookworm_Girl

Are you just teasing me, elcreative? The stories usually just say he asked for meat and bread. Would bread have been assumed to be buttered in that time period? My mom used to butter bread for tuna mayo sandwiches (or tuna salad as we say) when I was a kid, supposedly so the bread wouldn't get soggy in my lunch-box.

Hey, this was for Lord Sandwich... dry bread was for peasants...

[mrbanana]

Originally Posted by SeaBookGuy

I once worked in a small office, and my boss would eat sandwiches with butter, instead of mayo/mustard, claiming she was used to that from her Danish-American upbringing? Since you're over there every so often, ever tried one of those "chip butties" (as far as I can make out they're something like a sub roll filled with french fries)?

In the North a butty is just a sandwich. But you hardly ever hear it in the South. Once again, it's another social class/cultural background word.

[mrbanana]

Originally Posted by Bookworm_Girl

Interesting. I've always assumed that whenever I order brown bread that I was getting whole wheat. So can anyone explain why the English put butter on their sandwiches? I've never gotten a good explanation. I always have to remember when I order a ham sandwich to say no butter please and add mayo to make it American style.

Why butter? Habit, I guess. I don't eat butter or margarine, I don't eat mayonnaise either.

My grandparents grew up with bread and dripping (rendered animal fat used as a spread). I feel queasy just thinking about it. I guess it was a working class food, or worse still, something you ate because you couldn't afford anything else. Then again, it could be down to rationing, which didn't end until 1954:

https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikiped...United_Kingdom

[DMB]

Brown bread was originally either wholemeal or at any rate made from less refined flour than white bread.

The lion and the unicorn
Were fighting for the crown
The lion beat the unicorn
All round the town.

Some gave them white bread,
And some gave them brown;
Some gave them plum cake
and drummed them out of town

In the two years after WW2, particularly the horrible winter of 1946-7, Britain was very broke as a result of the war and was very short of food. The rationing was fierce. I remember bread and dripping as being a godsend because it gave one valuable calories when they were in short supply.

[taosaur]

I find when it comes to casually telling someone the time in The States, it's always an improvisation, and usually an approximation (arguably time can only be approximate, as all values are asymptotic at finer gradations, but I think you know what I mean). It's almost a small game of roulette when someone asks the time: consulting your timekeeping device of choice or inner clock, if the value is very nearly dead-on the hour or half-hour, you feel you've won; if it's within four minutes of the hour, half-hour, or quarter hour, report it as such and you haven't lost too badly; if none of the above, resort to abject digits (in 12-hour format, demanding they at least know what round we're in) and consult your horoscope as soon as possible.

[Bilbo1967]

Originally Posted by SeaBookGuy

I once worked in a small office, and my boss would eat sandwiches with butter, instead of mayo/mustard, claiming she was used to that from her Danish-American upbringing? Since you're over there every so often, ever tried one of those "chip butties" (as far as I can make out they're something like a sub roll filled with french fries)?

A chip butty is a chip sandwich, definately with butter and on normal square white slices of bread (I don't even know what a sub roll is).

NB. 'Chips' are similar to what you colonials call French fries, but would tend to be thicker than the abominations you get in places like Mcdonalds.

[SeaBookGuy]

Here is a link to more than you likely ever wanted to know about submarine sandwiches. Your desired style of chips would be closer to what in the States appear on menus as "steak fries"; however, to muddy the water a great deal, those are definitely not what would arrive in a dish of "steak frites" at bistro-y joints!

[Bilbo1967]

Originally Posted by SeaBookGuy

Here is a link to more than you likely ever wanted to know about submarine sandwiches. Your desired style of chips would be closer to what in the States appear on menus as "steak fries"; however, to muddy the water a great deal, those are definitely not what would arrive in a dish of "steak frites" at bistro-y joints!

Thanks for the link!

Ain't language (and food) great!

[Bookworm_Girl]

Originally Posted by Bilbo1967

A chip butty is a chip sandwich, definately with butter and on normal square white slices of bread (I don't even know what a sub roll is).

NB. 'Chips' are similar to what you colonials call French fries, but would tend to be thicker than the abominations you get in places like Mcdonalds.

A sub roll is like what you call a baquette. Similarly we don't use the term "bap roll", although it's kind of like what we call a Kaiser roll.

[taosaur]

Originally Posted by Bookworm_Girl

A sub roll is like what you call a baquette. Similarly we don't use the term "bap roll", although it's kind of like what we call a Kaiser roll.

Some folks call it a sling roll. I call it a Kaiser roll.

[Bookworm_Girl]

Originally Posted by taosaur

Some folks call it a sling roll. I call it a Kaiser roll.

Interesting. What region is sling roll from? Never heard that before and a goggle search wasn't very helpful.

[taosaur]

Originally Posted by Bookworm_Girl

Interesting. What region is sling roll from? Never heard that before and a goggle search wasn't very helpful.

Don't mind my silliness. Try googling just "sling kaiser."

[amward]

Ooohh! Chip butties. Yum. Alas not had one for years.

[GeoffC]

Originally Posted by DMB

Brown bread was originally either wholemeal or at any rate made from less refined flour than white bread.



In the two years after WW2, particularly the horrible winter of 1946-7, Britain was very broke as a result of the war and was very short of food. The rationing was fierce. I remember bread and dripping as being a godsend because it gave one valuable calories when they were in short supply.

especially pork dripping when there was some jelly included. alas the days when butchers would sell dripping are long gone....