# 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:** 6
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2005, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-speak-if-chips-fries-then-chips/304099/101 "2005-05-18T12:13:40Z")
> [@Miss Mapp](#): > > To my mind, biscuits and scones are pretty much the same thing by recipe (flour, a pinch of salt, little sugar, some baking powder, milk vs. table cream, stir, shape into little dabs on the cookie tray and bake). Biscuits, however, are normally round-shaped and a little more fluffy, and are to be used as a conveyance for chicken-and-gravy or roast beef with gravy. Scones are usually triangularly or wedge-shaped and more dense, are used to convey jam and Devon cream, and are accompanied by tea. Given that the comparison between biscuits and scones is usually done to try help Brits understand what American biscuits are, they need to be compared with British scones. As a Brit living in biscuit-country (the deep South), I’ve had a fair amount of exposure to both US biscuits and UK scones. British scones are not “usually triangular or wedge-shaped” (but I do agree with the rest of the sentence). They are actually shaped very much like a biscuit. However, the resemblance pretty much ends there. They do not taste very similar at all. ---
**Author:** ![fortytwo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f9ae1b/32.png) [@fortytwo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fortytwo)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2005, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-speak-if-chips-fries-then-chips/304099/102 "2005-05-18T12:24:20Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > A1 is kinda sorta like HP, but not exactly. I like HP better. > > Now. tell me what I should be putting my HP on, would you? It was served at a table of orders which included Full Irish Breakfast, Bangers and Mash, and Bacon-wrapped steak on toast. We first tried it with the steak and it was great. Then with the black and white puddings and it was yummy. Then the bangers, and it was awesome. We came to the conclusion that it was good on pretty much everything. Did we make some gross faux pas? No need to worry about any faux pas. These days I tend to use HP sauce when I have a full English breakfast especially on the sausages or scrambled eggs. Bangers and mash would be another favourite. My wife loves sausages and I’m not that keen so that’s why I use HP on them when I’m forced into eating them. Personally I’d never use HP on steak though, that’s reserved for English mustard. Nothing like a dollop of mustard to clean out the sinuses. From the jar: HP sauce is “great for spicing up chips, bacon sandwiches,sausages and snacks such as jacket potatoes and baked beans” And it’s still “by appointment to her Majesty the Queen” if that sort of thing impresses you 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Mapp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miss_mapp/32/369_2.png) [@Miss\_Mapp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Mapp)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2005, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-speak-if-chips-fries-then-chips/304099/103 "2005-05-18T12:26:16Z")
> [@amarone](#): > > British scones are not “usually triangular or wedge-shaped” (but I do agree with the rest of the sentence). They are actually shaped very much like a biscuit. However, the resemblance pretty much ends there. They do not taste very similar at all. Actually, the recipe I’m using is from a British cookbook. I don’t have it with me at the moment, but it does say, after stirring, to put the whole lump of dough on a lightly floured surface, pat down into a circular shape, and cut into 6-8 wedges with a sharp knife. But, yes you’re right: there are round British scones too. The ones I’ve seen have generally been smaller in diameter than biscuits, and seem to stand taller. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2005, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-speak-if-chips-fries-then-chips/304099/104 "2005-05-18T13:03:18Z")
> [@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. Yeah, well try getting a pretzle in Colombia. I had to draw a diagram of one for the woman at the supermarket, and she thought I was crazy. (There’s no Spanish word for “pretzle.”) ---
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2005, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-speak-if-chips-fries-then-chips/304099/105 "2005-05-18T13:19:03Z")
> [@amarone](#): > > I’m British and I’ve never heard “brown sauce” used to describe gravy. It is used as a name for… HP Sauce. HP and A1 are not the same. Mustard is not “yellow sauce”. I’ve never seen A1 in Britain, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. Not all brown sauce is HP sauce. Gravy is never referred to as brown sauce as far as I know (although ketchup is sometimes referred to as red sauce) but any sauce trying to pretend to be HP sauce is referred to as brown (IME, anyway). ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2005, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-speak-if-chips-fries-then-chips/304099/106 "2005-05-18T13:29:36Z")
> [@Askance](#): > > There’s more 🙂 What the USans call cookies are generally what Aussies and Brits call cookies too - sweet, doughy, fairly large and usually on the soft side Can anyone clear up the mystery of the “no-bake cookies” that we used to be served in the school cafetorium? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2005, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-speak-if-chips-fries-then-chips/304099/107 "2005-05-18T13:34:54Z")
> [@etmiller](#): > > Yeah, well try getting a pretzle in Colombia. I had to draw a diagram of one for the woman at the supermarket, and she thought I was crazy. (There’s no Spanish word for “pretzle.”) And the English word seems to be “pretzel.” 😃 Speaking of which, how do you folks line up on the soft vs. hard pretzel debate? ---
**Author:** ![seosamh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@seosamh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seosamh)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2005, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-speak-if-chips-fries-then-chips/304099/108 "2005-05-18T13:35:34Z")
(Probably just nonsense…) Wasn’t there a legal definition of “biscuit”? I seem to remember that there was a case involving Jaffa Cakes - were they a cake, as the name implied, or a biscuit? Someone came up with this definition: A biscuit is normally hard but goes soft, whereas a cake is normally soft but goes hard. ---
**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 18, 2005, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-speak-if-chips-fries-then-chips/304099/109 "2005-05-18T13:37:06Z")
Funny; scones are usually hexagonal or circular and pinked/fluted 'round these parts. OK, so scones (although similar) _aren’t_ the same as biscuits, but _why_? - if the recipe is so similar, what’s the difference? (apart from the presentation, that is). **acsenray** - ‘no bake’ cookies are usually made from crushed cookies or cake crumbs, mixed with something to make them set - either butter, melted chocolate, melted marshmallows or some kind of syrup (or a combination of those) - packed down into a shallow tray and left in the refrigerator to harden. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2005, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-speak-if-chips-fries-then-chips/304099/110 "2005-05-18T13:55:24Z")
> [@Vetch](#): > > No need to worry about any faux pas Exactly - it’s especially good with fried eggs, and essential for bacon sandwiches ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2005, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-speak-if-chips-fries-then-chips/304099/111 "2005-05-18T13:58:03Z")
> [@Vetch](#): > > Personally I’d never use HP on steak though, that’s reserved for English mustard. Nothing like a dollop of mustard to clean out the sinuses. I remember my first trip to England as a young lad, making a ham sandwich for myself and thinking “Hmmm…Colman’s, French’s…what’s the difference?” and slathering a ton of English mustard on my lunch. One bite taught me the difference! :eek: Now I am a bit of a mustard specialist, but I still remember my introduction to Colman’s. HP on sausages…Mmmmmmmmmmmm. (drool) ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2005, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-speak-if-chips-fries-then-chips/304099/112 "2005-05-18T14:01:20Z")
A biscuit, in "Merica, can be either exceedingly plain, or really buttery. It is eaten with chicken, quite often, or with dishes with gravy, as has already been mentioned. You **do not** eat it with tea, as you do with scones, (or in our case, if we ate them at all, which we don’t, with coffee.) and also, while scones often contain things like dried fruit, at least when I have seen them here, biscuits are just biscuits. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2005, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-speak-if-chips-fries-then-chips/304099/113 "2005-05-18T14:02:49Z")
> [@seosamh](#): > > Wasn’t there a legal definition of “biscuit”? I seem to remember that there was a case involving Jaffa Cakes - were they a cake, as the name implied, or a biscuit? > > Someone came up with this definition: A biscuit is normally hard but goes soft, whereas a cake is normally soft but goes hard. Yes, something like that - I think it was Customs & Excise that were trying to prove Jaffa Cakes should be classed as biscuits, which would mean they attracted more duty. Might be an urban legend, mind you. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2005, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-speak-if-chips-fries-then-chips/304099/114 "2005-05-18T14:02:53Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > Speaking of which, how do you folks line up on the soft vs. hard pretzel debate? Soft, with mustard–and warm. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2005, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-speak-if-chips-fries-then-chips/304099/115 "2005-05-18T14:04:38Z")
And what the hell is HP? ---
**Author:** ![mittu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@mittu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mittu)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2005, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-speak-if-chips-fries-then-chips/304099/116 "2005-05-18T14:06:53Z")
[HP Sauce](http://www.britsuperstore.com/acatalog/hp_sauce_bottle.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2005, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-speak-if-chips-fries-then-chips/304099/117 "2005-05-18T14:08:05Z")
> [@](#): > > Your term “lollies” brings to mind lollipop which is generally a hard crystalized sugar candy on a stick. “Sucker” is the most common American term for hard candy on a stick. Like hell it is. I’ve never heard anybody refer to a **lollipop** as a “sucker” anywhere in the U.S. That’s reserved for the way Elmer Fudd feels when he suddenly finds himself treading air 500 feet above a ravine in 1940s Bugs Bunny cartoons. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2005, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-speak-if-chips-fries-then-chips/304099/118 "2005-05-18T14:13:58Z")
> [@mittu](#): > > [HP Sauce](http://www.britsuperstore.com/acatalog/hp_sauce_bottle.jpg) Something like worcestershire sauce? Or A & 1 steak sauce? ---
**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 18, 2005, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-speak-if-chips-fries-then-chips/304099/119 "2005-05-18T14:22:26Z")
HP sauce is a very tangy, highly spiced (but not _hot_) sort of ketchup - flavoured with allspice, if I’m not mistaken. Not entirely unlike Worcester sauce in the general direction of flavour, but not _really_ all that similar either. ---
**Author:** ![Brynda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Brynda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brynda)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2005, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-speak-if-chips-fries-then-chips/304099/120 "2005-05-18T14:22:58Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Like hell it is. I’ve never heard anybody refer to a **lollipop** as a “sucker” anywhere in the U.S. That’s reserved for the way Elmer Fudd feels when he suddenly finds himself treading air 500 feet above a ravine in 1940s Bugs Bunny cartoons. Down here (southern US), we call em suckers all the time. You need to get out more. On biscuits vs. scones: As said earlier, biscuits are lighter than scones. The inside is soft and bread-like, not crumbly. Scones are yummy (had my fair share in the UK), but biscuits are heaven on earth. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-speak-if-chips-fries-then-chips/304099.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-speak-if-chips-fries-then-chips/304099.md?page=7)