# CREEPY experience at the supermarket tonight **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 24, 2012, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepy-experience-at-the-supermarket-tonight/619778 "2012-04-24T04:33:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepy-experience-at-the-supermarket-tonight/619778/21 "2012-04-24T16:54:26Z")
Why is it that so many people refer to it as “the Ukraine” rather than just Ukraine? It’s so prevalent that it’s only recently that I’ve learned that referring to it as “the Ukraine” is incorrect. Come to that, how many other countries customarily have “the” pre-pended when they’re referred to? There’s “the USA”, and there used to be “the USSR”. And does this seem to happen only with countries whose name start with a “U”? If so, why isn’t it “the Uganda”? \ \ Oh, yeah, **Tom Tildrum**. Very odd experience. I’ve been known to talk to people in grocery store lines, but it’s usually things like “how many cats” if I see them buying cat food. I’m not sure how I’d react if someone said something like to me. I suspect I’d be so taken aback I’d say nothing, but it’s equally possible that I’d blurt out something like, “What, are you kidding me?” (I have a faulty governor on my tongue. It gets me into trouble.) ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepy-experience-at-the-supermarket-tonight/619778/22 "2012-04-24T17:03:41Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > Why is it that so many people refer to it as “the Ukraine” rather than just Ukraine? It’s so prevalent that it’s only recently that I’ve learned that referring to it as “the Ukraine” is incorrect. > > Come to that, how many other countries customarily have “the” pre-pended when they’re referred to? There’s “the USA”, and there used to be “the USSR”. And does this seem to happen only with countries whose name start with a “U”? If so, why isn’t it “the Uganda”? > > \ > > \ > > Oh, yeah, **Tom Tildrum**. Very odd experience. I’ve been known to talk to people in grocery store lines, but it’s usually things like “how many cats” if I see them buying cat food. I’m not sure how I’d react if someone said something like to me. I suspect I’d be so taken aback I’d say nothing, but it’s equally possible that I’d blurt out something like, “What, are you kidding me?” (I have a faulty governor on my tongue. It gets me into trouble.) The Bronx. Well it’s like a different country. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepy-experience-at-the-supermarket-tonight/619778/23 "2012-04-24T17:17:59Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > Why is it that so many people refer to it as “the Ukraine” rather than just Ukraine? It’s so prevalent that it’s only recently that I’ve learned that referring to it as “the Ukraine” is incorrect… Someone will come along with a more detailed answer, but Ukraine roughly translates as borderland. This comes from a time when it was the western edge of the Russian empire. As an independent nation, it is no longer the borderland, but rather Borderland. It is a subtle difference that reflects Ukraine’s status as a free nation. I believe it was not until the 1917 that Ukraine was an official nation. In Russian, which does not have the word the, the change is reflected by the fact that the prepostion for being in Ukraine changed from na to v, roughly changing the meaning from on/at the borderland to in Borderland. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepy-experience-at-the-supermarket-tonight/619778/24 "2012-04-24T17:24:25Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > You think anti-semitism is rare inside the Beltway? Are you insinuating that it’s common? Do you live here? Because I have to say that I’ve lived here for over forty years and I never experienced overt anti-semitism from anyone. And for the first 28 or so of those years I was a blue-eyed blonde. (Now more brown and gray.) I would be utterly shocked if I heard something like that! I have seen news reports of damage done to local synagogues and protesters coming to town with anti-semitic agendas, but these are seen as ultra-fringe, ignorant views. ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepy-experience-at-the-supermarket-tonight/619778/25 "2012-04-24T17:35:50Z")
She’s just sore because Ukraine is weak. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepy-experience-at-the-supermarket-tonight/619778/26 "2012-04-24T17:36:42Z")
It can be shocking the bullshit people will spout when they think they’ve found a sympathetic audience. I’m still wondering where the SDMB goon squad is that calls people “smug” and “superior” and “promoting racism” by starting threads about how they don’t particularly appreciate hearing other people’s racist BS. I guess the only come out when people are offended/confused/shocked by racism against African-Americans. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![belladonna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9fc29f/32.png) [@belladonna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/belladonna)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepy-experience-at-the-supermarket-tonight/619778/27 "2012-04-24T17:50:22Z")
> [@Cosmic Relief](#): > > Once I was in a grocery store just after midnight when a kid walked up and shoved a bunch of goat cheese in my hands. He said “It expired 10 minutes ago so it’s free! Take it!” I looked up and there was a Jewish mom and 3-4 kids dashing up and down the aisles loading up with random stuff (which I assume was expired/free). I took the goat cheese, after all it was free and only 10 minutes out of date. > > … (Ignorance-fighting and all, I really have no idea, just trying to make sense of two odd experiences). Maybe you saw a family collecting for their church? I volunteered at a church for a while that made scheduled late-night trips to the local Kroger to pick up expired merchandise for their food pantry. Anyone who volunteered would have to go along and load everything up, I can see a kid getting carried away and sharing the wealth. Just a guess … ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepy-experience-at-the-supermarket-tonight/619778/28 "2012-04-24T17:58:47Z")
Even sven, this thread is different than the ones you are referring to. The OP seems to me tl only want to relate an odd story. It doesn’t seem like hes looking for a cookiedor not being a racist. Key facts here are that this is in mpsims and not turpitude and the op doesn’t express indignation that someone else would intimate that the op shares their racism. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepy-experience-at-the-supermarket-tonight/619778/29 "2012-04-24T18:41:43Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > What is the Beltway? > **[Inside the Beltway](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inside_the_Beltway)** > > "Inside the Beltway" is an American idiom used to characterize matters of greater interest to U.S. federal government officials, contractors, lobbyists, and media personnel, than to their general public. The Capital Beltway (Interstate 495) is a highway that has encircled Washington, D.C. since 1964. Some speakers of American English now use "beltway" as a metonym for federal government insiders (cf. Beltway bandits). Multiple political columns are titled after the phrase, including the Washin Ge... > [@Wikipedia](#): > > The term “Inside the Beltway” is also sometimes employed in a literal, geographic sense in the Washington, D.C., area to describe the city and those portions of Maryland and Virginia that are close to the nation’s capital. These include not only Washington, D.C., but also Arlington County, Virginia; the city of Falls Church, Virginia; most of the city of Alexandria, Virginia; and portions of Montgomery and Prince George’s counties in Maryland and Fairfax County in Virginia. ---
**Author:** ![Pai325](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Pai325](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pai325)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepy-experience-at-the-supermarket-tonight/619778/30 "2012-04-24T19:06:32Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > Why is it that so many people refer to it as “the Ukraine” rather than just Ukraine? It’s so prevalent that it’s only recently that I’ve learned that referring to it as “the Ukraine” is incorrect. > > Come to that, how many other countries customarily have “the” pre-pended when they’re referred to? There’s “the USA”, and there used to be “the USSR”. The Ohio State University? ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepy-experience-at-the-supermarket-tonight/619778/31 "2012-04-24T19:10:13Z")
Also, the Netherlands. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepy-experience-at-the-supermarket-tonight/619778/32 "2012-04-24T19:15:48Z")
> [@belladonna](#): > > Maybe you saw a family collecting for their church? If it was a Jewish family, collecting for their synagogue is more likely. ---
**Author:** ![Courk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/91b2a8/32.png) [@Courk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Courk)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepy-experience-at-the-supermarket-tonight/619778/33 "2012-04-24T19:24:14Z")
It’s “the UK,” right? ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepy-experience-at-the-supermarket-tonight/619778/34 "2012-04-24T20:08:13Z")
There’s a similar debate about “Batman” vs. “The Batman.” > [@Anne\_Neville](#): > > If it was a Jewish family, collecting for their synagogue is more likely. Collecting TRASH! Sorry, sorry. This woman is still getting to me a bit. It sort of feels like the beginning of “Thinner.” > [@Courk](#): > > It’s “the UK,” right? Unless it’s raining. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepy-experience-at-the-supermarket-tonight/619778/35 "2012-04-24T20:43:36Z")
> [@Cosmic Relief](#): > > Once I was in a grocery store just after midnight when a kid walked up and shoved a bunch of goat cheese in my hands. He said “It expired 10 minutes ago so it’s free! Take it!” I looked up and there was a Jewish mom and 3-4 kids dashing up and down the aisles loading up with random stuff (which I assume was expired/free). I took the goat cheese, after all it was free and only 10 minutes out of date. Apparently I need to start hanging out at the grocery store around midnight as I have never heard of this practice. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepy-experience-at-the-supermarket-tonight/619778/36 "2012-04-24T20:51:29Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > Why is it that so many people refer to it as “the Ukraine” rather than just Ukraine? Because any American over 40 grew up seeing it that way everywhere, all of the time. It was only after independence that Ukrainians began caring how English speakers rendered their name, and decided that “the” was too reminiscent of the old Soviet republic. ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepy-experience-at-the-supermarket-tonight/619778/37 "2012-04-24T21:18:13Z")
And also, The United States. ---
**Author:** ![destineal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f9b8f/32.png) [@destineal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/destineal)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepy-experience-at-the-supermarket-tonight/619778/38 "2012-04-24T21:38:40Z")
If you actually think of what USA, USSR, and UK actually stand for, the “the” is grammatically correct in those cases. ---
**Author:** ![destineal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f9b8f/32.png) [@destineal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/destineal)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepy-experience-at-the-supermarket-tonight/619778/39 "2012-04-24T21:39:58Z")
Actually ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepy-experience-at-the-supermarket-tonight/619778/40 "2012-04-24T22:54:49Z")
> [@BetsQ](#): > > Then the guy went on to talk at great length about how his community was doing their children a real disservice by letting them get so fat, and look at this girl, by the time she’s 16 she’ll weigh 250 pounds, and all the women are fat and just say that we have to accept them like that but the only guys who want to date them are the blacks. > > It was astonishing. I had no response. One time a fellow communal taxi passenger(taxi that travels a set route unloads and then waits til it fills up to go back the other way again) that was talkative when I said my wife was a local and the inevitable race question came up he said good for me, those niggers are always stealing white women good on you for getting revenge. Then he said he was also doing his part as his GF was black(he was indian). 😕 I find random strangers are good for that no response thing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepy-experience-at-the-supermarket-tonight/619778.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepy-experience-at-the-supermarket-tonight/619778.md?page=3)