American Readers(and others too)

[Elennar Starfire]

As for taters... I have issues with taters. I always picture Sam cooking up the tater tots that my school's cafeteria likes to serve with cheeseburgers.

Ah, Napoleon Dynamite...
"Get your own dang tots!"

What? We have biscuits here in Utah. They are like a roll. You eat them with soup, or with jam and butter. You can dip them in gravy too.

Except I think rolls tend to be fluffier than biscuits, in general.

I think your idea of 'tater tots' sounds like hash browns. I thought that hash browns were just called hash browns in the US though...

Tater tots are sort of like hash browns, but the potato is shredded into smaller bits and rolled up in little balls before frying. Nasty, greasy things.

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

Rolls tend to be made with yeast, so they rise and are fluffy. Biscuits aren't. At least... that's my experience.

I think the most hilarious thing about this thread is that I can vividly imagine a dozen or so hobbits from different parts of the Shire sitting over a cuppa and eating baked products with arguably different names.

Baggins: Ah, what an excellent biscuit.
Brandybuck: That's no biscuit, that's a crumpet.
Boffin: Not where I come from it's not! Our crumpets ain't nothin' like yer scones.
Baggins: That's no scone, it's a biscuit!.
Boffin: Well, I call it scone.

*Grin*

Fea

[Lalwendë]

Originally Posted by Fea otP

I think the most hilarious thing about this thread is that I can vividly imagine a dozen or so hobbits from different parts of the Shire sitting over a cuppa and eating baked products with arguably different names.

Excellent, yes! Picture the scene at Bilbo's birthday feast. Up to the table comes Rosie Cotton bearing a basket of bread rolls to be served with the soup. "Bread rolls," she shouts. "Who wants a bread roll?"

"Nah mate, no bread rolls for me," says a cheeky Bracegirdle from the West Farthing. "But aye, I'll have a barm cake."

"Tch," says the person next to him, in a broad Michel Delving accent. "Them's bread cakes, reight."

Rosie looks bemused but carries on to the next group of Hobbits. But a good natured argument has started up by now between the two Hobbits. "It's Ginnel, that path between two smials", says the first one. "Nayow! It's a jennel", says the second.

Meanwhile, Rosie gets to a group of lads from Buckland, who are all half cut with ale. They are sitting near the opening to the tent and it's a bit chilly. Rosie shivers a little. But the lads are quite content sitting there in their shirt sleeves, in fact, they look a little red-faced and hot. "Way ay!" shouts one. "Got some stottie cakes for us have you?"

Rosie wanders off to get herself a pint and thanks her lucky stars she's not serving up cakes or biscuits.

[Celebuial]

I think Rosie would have a problem in Leicester. When I go somewhere else and ask for a cob people look at me funny, but it's what we call bread rolls. See, you don't even need to go out of the country to get all confused about food names!!!

Hmmmm. In the film Hobbits had tomatoes, so I assume they did. Although I do remember a debate about this on one of the extended additions extras. I must rewatch the liot and find out!

I still thibnk it'd taste weird to them though. It's not reallt made of tomatoes is it? It's mostly sugar! YUCK!

[Morai]

When I go somewhere else and ask for a cob people look at me funny, but it's what we call bread rolls.

Interesting, I don't know about there, but here we have something completely unrelated we call '"corn on the cob", which is just corn that hasn't been removed from...well-the cob. (kinda like tomatos or grapes sold still on their original vines.) There is a law where I'm from that you can't wash corn on the cob before you eat/cook it, though no one really follows it.

I still thibnk it'd taste weird to them though. It's not reallt made of tomatoes is it? It's mostly sugar! YUCK!

Actually it's more tomato paste, sugar, and spices (perhaps vinegar?) Good point though.

Ever noticed the difference between spellings such as "colour" and "color?"

[Celebuial]

We have corn on the cob too. I notice the spelling a lot. I read a lot of American Literature so I'm kinda used to it now, and since I'm really bad at spelling anyway this doesn't really irritate me. It's quite funny though when there are whole words and phrases that I find that we don't have in England. I don't know any Americans so I normally just get confused!

[Nuranar]

Ooh, on the subject of corn...

To all you Brits (and any others), what is corn? To me, corn is the vegetable Morai was talking about. But I've heard rumors that it's something else in Europe? I know that the first settlers over here had no idea what the Indians were growing - now called maize, perhaps? I think it was a good bit smaller than the large sweet corn we've got now, but it's the same sort of thing. Do y'all have cornbread, for example?

Or maybe I've just managed to really confuse myself. It's not unprecedented.