# Brit-speak: if Chips==Fries, then ??==Chips **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 16, 2005, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-speak-if-chips-fries-then-chips/304099 "2005-05-16T17:53:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Belrix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed655f/32.png) [@Belrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belrix)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2005, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-speak-if-chips-fries-then-chips/304099/1 "2005-05-16T17:53:51Z")
My wife and I pondered this weekend, as we are sometimes wont to do, and came across an an odd ponderable. If, in England, “Chips” are the equivalent of Americal “Fries”, then how would I order potato chips alongside my pastrami in an English deli? ---
**Author:** ![mittu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@mittu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mittu)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2005, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-speak-if-chips-fries-then-chips/304099/2 "2005-05-16T17:55:07Z")
They are called crisps. ---
**Author:** ![Tabby\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tabby\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabby_Cat)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2005, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-speak-if-chips-fries-then-chips/304099/3 "2005-05-16T17:55:38Z")
Crisps. But chips are better. Mmmmmmmm salt and vinegar. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Tabby\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tabby\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabby_Cat)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2005, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-speak-if-chips-fries-then-chips/304099/4 "2005-05-16T17:56:48Z")
:mad: by the seconds!! _shakes fist_ ---
**Author:** ![aerodave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f08c70/32.png) [@aerodave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aerodave)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2005, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-speak-if-chips-fries-then-chips/304099/5 "2005-05-16T18:25:10Z")
I had a similar issue with biscuits once. If Americans call them cookies, and Brits call them biscuits, then what to Brits call what we call biscuits? As in buttermilk, breakfast-style biscuits. Well, I decided to find out when I made a trip to the UK last year, and the answer is simple. They don’t call them anything because they DON’T EXIST. Even the KFCs over there don’t have biscuits (crime against nature, I tell ya.) When I confronted my British colleagues about this, they couldn’t even understand what I was describing. “You mean like a scone?” One guy had been to a buffet in Texas, and said he was too scared of the baseball-sized bread things to try one. He didn’t get the smothered-in-gravy part, either. It was only when I described the things that he made the connection, and figured out exactly what the hell I was trying to describe as a “biscuit.” The point? For some things, the words don’t exist because the items are conspicuously absent. ---
**Author:** ![Groveldog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/71e660/32.png) [@Groveldog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Groveldog)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2005, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-speak-if-chips-fries-then-chips/304099/6 "2005-05-16T18:51:08Z")
> [@Belrix](#): > > If, in England, “Chips” are the equivalent of Americal “Fries”, then how would I order potato chips alongside my pastrami in an English deli? Do you mean that strange American habit of crisps with a meal? If so, you couldn’t. I can’t speak for the English 100% as an Aussie, but we are fairly similar. I noticed when I was in the US that crisps often come with various meals as a side dish. In Australia crisps are a snack to be had on their own, or maybe with a dip. If I can translate the absurdity of it to us, it’d be like having Oreos with your hamburger. It just ain’t right. FWIW In Australia the terminology gets a bit sticky, as we call both crisps and fries “chips”. Hot chips are fries and the other chips don’t have a proper name, so I guess most people refer to them as “You know, Samboys or Smiths”. We all understand the description when they are called crisps, but asking for them is likely to get you beaten up. ---
**Author:** ![Tabby\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tabby\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabby_Cat)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2005, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-speak-if-chips-fries-then-chips/304099/7 "2005-05-16T18:54:56Z")
Well… I’m not so sure that they’re uncommon to have for lunch, as I see many stores selling sandwiches and crisps together in “meal” combos. Mayhaps the Aussies and British have diverged with regards to crisp - eating? ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2005, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-speak-if-chips-fries-then-chips/304099/8 "2005-05-16T19:04:20Z")
You can also get game chips , which are actually freshly made crisps served with game. Here is how to make them:- [Game Chips](http://www.foodiesite.com/recipes/2000-12/gamechips.jsp) ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2005, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-speak-if-chips-fries-then-chips/304099/9 "2005-05-16T19:05:01Z")
Crisps aren’t something you’d see on a plated meal. The sandwich+crisps thing is very much a snack, the kind of thing you’d eat at your desk, or on the train, or wherever. The only proper place for adults to eat crisps is in the pub. ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2005, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-speak-if-chips-fries-then-chips/304099/10 "2005-05-16T19:07:25Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > Crisps aren’t something you’d see on a plated meal. The sandwich+crisps thing is very much a snack, the kind of thing you’d eat at your desk, or on the train, or wherever. > > The only proper place for adults to eat crisps is in the pub. See my remarks above about game chips ! ---
**Author:** ![Reloy3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c68b51/32.png) [@Reloy3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reloy3)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2005, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-speak-if-chips-fries-then-chips/304099/11 "2005-05-16T19:23:30Z")
> [@Groveldog](#): > > If I can translate the absurdity of it to us, it’d be like having Oreos with your hamburger. It just ain’t right. Hey, that’s what I ate watching Survivor last night. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2005, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-speak-if-chips-fries-then-chips/304099/12 "2005-05-16T19:33:04Z")
> [@aerodave](#): > > I had a similar issue with biscuits once. > > If Americans call them cookies, and Brits call them biscuits, then what to Brits call what we call biscuits? As in buttermilk, breakfast-style biscuits. > > Well, I decided to find out when I made a trip to the UK last year, and the answer is simple. They don’t call them anything because they DON’T EXIST. Even the KFCs over there don’t have biscuits (crime against nature, I tell ya.) > > When I confronted my British colleagues about this, they couldn’t even understand what I was describing. “You mean like a scone?” One guy had been to a buffet in Texas, and said he was too scared of the baseball-sized bread things to try one. He didn’t get the smothered-in-gravy part, either. It was only when I described the things that he made the connection, and figured out exactly what the hell I was trying to describe as a “biscuit.” > > The point? For some things, the words don’t exist because the items are conspicuously absent. When I lived in England, I had a hankering for some Mexican food, so I went to the local Tesco and asked where the tortillas were. Nobody, absolutely nobody, knew what the hell I was talking about. The closest thing they could come up with were the pre-made Taco Bell corn taco shells. I remember something finally registered with one of them, but I can’t remember the name he called it (100% alien to me)–needless to say, they didn’t have it. And that’s when I invented Indian Nachos (Naan with Tikka sauce), my International Dorm Room indulgence. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2005, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-speak-if-chips-fries-then-chips/304099/13 "2005-05-16T19:46:54Z")
> [@ArchiveGuy](#): > > When I lived in England, I had a hankering for some Mexican food, so I went to the local Tesco and asked where the tortillas were. Nobody, absolutely nobody, knew what the hell I was talking about. The closest thing they could come up with were the pre-made Taco Bell corn taco shells. My local Tesco certainly stocks them. Although bear in mind that here, we’re as likely to encounter Spanish tortilla, something quite different! ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2005, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-speak-if-chips-fries-then-chips/304099/14 "2005-05-16T20:20:16Z")
Mexican food really isn’t all that big over here, however, (‘flour’, that is to say _wheat_) tortillas are now quite widely available (sometimes called ‘wraps’, even when they are sold in their flat form). Products made from cornmeal are pretty uncommon. I’m told that scones are about as close as we come to American biscuits. Also, the word _cookie_ is part of the British vocab - it usually refers to (what we would normally call) a biscuit that hasn’t been rolled or moulded into shape and is therefore rough or irregular in shape, especially with inclusion of chocolate, toffee or fruit pieces - _biscuits_ are typically more regular in shape, often embossed with writing and/or pictures. ---
**Author:** ![mittu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@mittu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mittu)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2005, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-speak-if-chips-fries-then-chips/304099/15 "2005-05-16T20:25:00Z")
The [Old El Paso](http://www.generalmills.com/corporate/brands/brand.aspx?catID=72) range can be found in every supermarket i’ve been into in the U.K., and pretty darn tasty they are too though i’m not sure how they would measure up to the real deal. ---
**Author:** ![Tabby\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tabby\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabby_Cat)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2005, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-speak-if-chips-fries-then-chips/304099/16 "2005-05-16T21:13:19Z")
> [@ArchiveGuy](#): > > When I lived in England, I had a hankering for some Mexican food, so I went to the local Tesco and asked where the tortillas were. Nobody, absolutely nobody, knew what the hell I was talking about. The closest thing they could come up with were the pre-made Taco Bell corn taco shells. I remember something finally registered with one of them, but I can’t remember the name he called it (100% alien to me)–needless to say, they didn’t have it. > > And that’s when I invented Indian Nachos (Naan with Tikka sauce), my International Dorm Room indulgence. Naan as nachos? Aren’t nachos corn chip thingees, to be eaten with dip, and naan soft indian bread? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2005, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-speak-if-chips-fries-then-chips/304099/17 "2005-05-16T22:15:01Z")
> [@Tabby\_Cat](#): > > Naan as nachos? Aren’t nachos corn chip thingees, to be eaten with dip, and naan soft indian bread? 😕 Yes, but if you use a little imagination, you can turn naan into a tortilla-chip type snack…especially if you go the extra mile and deep-fry it. ---
**Author:** ![fortytwo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f9ae1b/32.png) [@fortytwo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fortytwo)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2005, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-speak-if-chips-fries-then-chips/304099/18 "2005-05-16T22:37:22Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Yes, but if you use a little imagination, you can turn naan into a tortilla-chip type snack…especially if you go the extra mile and deep-fry it. Good Grief! I don’t believe it. Naan is absolutely splendiferous as it comes (warm soft and doughy) -it doesn’t need any frying, thank you very much. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2005, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-speak-if-chips-fries-then-chips/304099/19 "2005-05-17T01:04:16Z")
> [@Vetch](#): > > Good Grief! I don’t believe it. Naan is absolutely splendiferous as it comes (warm soft and doughy) -it doesn’t need any frying, thank you very much. I’m not saying that’s how **ArchiveGuy** does it, and I’ve certainly never fried naan. He might just cut them up in pieces and call them “Indian nachos.” I’m just commenting that the idea of using naan as “nachos” isn’t really all that bizarre. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2005, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-speak-if-chips-fries-then-chips/304099/20 "2005-05-17T01:32:21Z")
No deep-frying–simply breaking up the naan into scoopable portions and using the tikka sauce as the “dip” (instead of the hard-to-find tortilla chips & cheese). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-speak-if-chips-fries-then-chips/304099.md?page=2)