Rememberance day

[Bryan]

I was in a supermarket at 11am on the 11th this month and an announcement came over the tannoy...

I had to do a Google search on "tannoy" to find out what the hell that word means (although the context of its usage obviously suggested that it's a public address system). Cool! It's another one of those weird Britishisms!

 

[ali777]

I think you are being a bit unfair.... I was in a supermarket at the time as well. In the supermarket that I was in, there was only one person who kept on walking around and looking at labels and he was an old man.

What really annoyed me about the 2 mins silence was the fact that the supermarket locked the doors for the duration of the 2 mins. I felt like they took away my right to choose to respect the silence or not.

I wasn't going to walk out, but you can't force those things on people.

 

[pratc]

It's another one of those weird Britishisms!

Off topic, but I believe it's a proprietary name, just as most people here call a vacuum cleaner, a 'Hoover'. Similarly, a vacuum flask is usually called a 'Thermos' or 'Thermos flask'. Is it similar in the USA for people to allocate a well known brand name to a certain general item?

 

[The Gardener]

Yep, we also have some brand names that have become standard terms for objects here in the states. We also use the term "thermos" for a vacuum flask. Another common one is the use of the word "Kleenex" for a facial tissue. Or, when making copies, we'll say "I'm going to xerox this document". Or when doing an internet search, we say we will "Google" it.

However, we don't use the word "hoover" to refer to a vacuum cleaner. Where I live, the term "Hoover" is one that refers to a girl who gives a good BJ.

 

[ali777]

Where I live, the term "Hoover" is one that refers to a girl who gives a good BJ.

Your girls' suction power must be close to the one generated by a vacuum cleaner???

Sorry, I couldn't resist the temptation :innocent:



I try not to use brand names to mean generic terms. I would say vacuum cleaner, photocopier, etc.

 

[ali777]

Since we are on the subject....

Why do you use coke instead of cola? Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't cola the generic term and coke the trademark name?

As far as I know, other languages use cola. It's only English speaking world that uses coke...

 

[Bryan]

Why do you use coke instead of cola? Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't cola the generic term and coke the trademark name?

I don't think we use "coke" instead of "cola". I think we use "coke" to refer specifically to Coca Cola.

 

[JayBear]

The following conversation can be heard in many parts of Pennsylvania:

Server: What would you like to drink
Customer: I'll have a coke
Server: What kind?
Customer: Sprite

 

[Bryan]

I've never heard anything like that. Around these parts, "coke" means "Coke".

 

[Night]

I say coke when I talk about Coca Cola.