07 February, 2006

Speaking English

...don't say it in Russian/ don't say it in German....


Understood that a gown is a frock, a bar is a pub, a tire’s a tyre, a suitcase is a trunk, a trunk’s a boot, a truck’s a lorry, a sweater’s a jumper, my fanny is not for sitting, and you can knock me up without having sex with me.

Got it.

BUT

If a fry is a chip, a chip is a crisp, and a cookie is a biscuit, what’s a biscuit?

And don’t tell me a scone, because I’ve had one, and it’s not.

(Broken English; Marianne Faithfull)

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

a biscuit is a muffin. i think. because english muffins are really just very flat biscuits, aren't they? i don't know, i'm confused. i'll have to go look it up.

Michael said...

I'm quite knackered trying to sort this out. But I do love pudding of all sorts. Cheerio!

Anonymous said...

Yes, the English biscuit = American cookie.

But as for America biscuit = ???, well, there is no direct equivalent, but... I would say that scones are the closest. English scones are very similar to American biscuits, in my experience. English scones are perhaps a bit drier, but they look and taste very similar to American biscuits. Try putting strwaberry jam and stiff whipped cream (whipped by hand, not out of a can) on a biscuit. Very yummy.

As for American "English muffins", I've never seen them in Enlgand.

d said...

Be careful; this post could singlehandedly collapse the British economy.