# Different things that have the same name (where you live) and nobody gets confused **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 17, 2021, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-things-that-have-the-same-name-where-you-live-and-nobody-gets-confused/930739 "2021-01-17T16:33:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2021, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-things-that-have-the-same-name-where-you-live-and-nobody-gets-confused/930739/101 "2021-01-19T12:31:33Z")
There is a local building center (lumber hardware, etc.) called the Breckenridge Building Center. When I tell someone from out of town that they can get their lumber at the BBC, there is a little confusion. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2021, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-things-that-have-the-same-name-where-you-live-and-nobody-gets-confused/930739/102 "2021-01-19T12:36:18Z")
It might be a silicon frosting spatula - which I use to scrape bowls. But I’ve also seen a silicon bench scraper called a “spatula”. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2021, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-things-that-have-the-same-name-where-you-live-and-nobody-gets-confused/930739/103 "2021-01-19T12:43:16Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Yep, in the United States, both the street and the sidewalk are “pavement” because they’re both paved. I wonder whether this makes it qualified for the OP’s category. They’re both “pavement” to me, but they’re not both _the_ pavement, since if you said you were on the pavement I’d think of the roadway. However, if you said you were on a paved sidewalk that would be understood to be different from a dirt trail. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2021, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-things-that-have-the-same-name-where-you-live-and-nobody-gets-confused/930739/104 "2021-01-19T13:28:36Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > IMHO, green beans and black beans are at least as recognizably related as green pepper and black pepper. I think you’ve expressed your point poorly here. Green beans and black beans are highly related botanically, same species of plant and all. Green bell peppers and black peppercorns are not at all related botanically. Your phrasing implies that the relatedness is similar, though greater, for beans. Of course, it did point out that “pepper” is two very different things in food, and rarely confused. ---
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2021, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-things-that-have-the-same-name-where-you-live-and-nobody-gets-confused/930739/105 "2021-01-19T14:30:35Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > > [@thorny\_locust](#): > > > > There’s a thing that I call a spatula, which has a flexible blade meant for uses such as scraping bowls clean. > > > > And there’s a thing that I call a pancake turner, which is used in hot pans for turning pancakes, or eggs, or anything else in a hot pan which needs to be turned or to be scraped off the pan. > > > > To me, these are two distinct tools, though both of them exist in a batch of variations. I’ve run into people who call them both spatulas. I found that confusing, but the people who call them by the same name don’t seem to be confused by it. > > I couldn’t understand this post so I tried to look it up and the only thing I could find is that “spatula” could mean either the thing you use to flip foods being cooked in a frying pan or the thing you use to spread icing on a cake. I would call the former a spatula and the latter a spreader or maybe a cake knife. > > I’m not sure what this thing is that is used to scrape a bowl. Is it what I call a silicon scraper? These are [spatulas.](https://smile.amazon.com/Good-Grips-3-piece-Silicone-Spatula/dp/B005PP9ACY/ref=sr_1_5?crid=G8T5VH9575ZU&dchild=1&keywords=spatula&qid=1611066599&sprefix=Spatula%2Caps%2C239&sr=8-5) This is also [A spatula.](https://smile.amazon.com/Chef-Craft-12510-Turner-1-Pack/dp/B00B0M5LQK/ref=sr_1_7?crid=G8T5VH9575ZU&dchild=1&keywords=spatula&qid=1611066599&sprefix=Spatula%2Caps%2C239&sr=8-7) ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2021, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-things-that-have-the-same-name-where-you-live-and-nobody-gets-confused/930739/106 "2021-01-19T15:02:05Z")
Meant to add, although many pancake turners and silicon frosting spatulas look very different, these [pancake/hamburger turners](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07WG7GMBJ/ref=sspa_dk_detail_0?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B07WG7GMBJ&pd_rd_w=JzPrF&pf_rd_p=811154a9-44b1-49f2-9177-84495098de64&pd_rd_wg=XTg4t&pf_rd_r=2Q73RZTQFYWK4Z02V1FH&pd_rd_r=7bae1b67-4b55-4927-8aa1-17f06a926a11&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEyTk45RkZCRUhXSUszJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwMzA0MzEwMkRRWERBQk1DOVRHRSZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwMjI4MTEyM0RNS1lBTjBHTE9FViZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2RldGFpbF90aGVtYXRpYyZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=) look very similar to these [offset frosting spatulas](https://www.amazon.com/Acronde-Professional-Stainless-Decorating-Frosting/dp/B07MKP3QXK/ref=sr_1_10?crid=2K72XOLEC7HGT&dchild=1&keywords=offset+spatula&qid=1611068417&s=home-garden&sprefix=offset%2Cgarden%2C161&sr=1-10) ( except of course in size) ---
**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:** [January 19, 2021, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-things-that-have-the-same-name-where-you-live-and-nobody-gets-confused/930739/107 "2021-01-19T16:19:59Z")
Okay, okay, I see now. Well, from my point of view, these three are pretty much the same thing—one is a lot narrower, and another is slightly flared and is slotted, but it makes sense to me that they’re all called “spatulas,” which I’ve always called them (I don’t have “turner” in my idiolect/dialect). _Mayyybe_ if the situation calls for specificity, one might specify “icing spreader” or “slotted spatula”: (1) [Amazon.com](https://www.amazon.com/Chef-Craft-12510-Turner-1-Pack/dp/B00B0M5LQK/ref=sr_1_7?crid=G8T5VH9575ZU&dchild=1&keywords=spatula&qid=1611066599&sprefix=Spatula%2Caps%2C239&sr=8-7&pldnSite=1) (2) [Amazon.com](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07WG7GMBJ/ref=sspa_dk_detail_0?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B07WG7GMBJ&pd_rd_w=JzPrF&pf_rd_p=811154a9-44b1-49f2-9177-84495098de64&pd_rd_wg=XTg4t&pf_rd_r=2Q73RZTQFYWK4Z02V1FH&pd_rd_r=7bae1b67-4b55-4927-8aa1-17f06a926a11&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEyTk45RkZCRUhXSUszJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwMzA0MzEwMkRRWERBQk1DOVRHRSZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwMjI4MTEyM0RNS1lBTjBHTE9FViZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2RldGFpbF90aGVtYXRpYyZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=) (3) [Amazon.com](https://www.amazon.com/Acronde-Professional-Stainless-Decorating-Frosting/dp/B07MKP3QXK/ref=sr_1_10?crid=2K72XOLEC7HGT&dchild=1&keywords=offset+spatula&qid=1611068417&s=home-garden&sprefix=offset%2Cgarden%2C161&sr=1-10) This one to me is the only one that is so different in shape that, again in my view, it logically should have a different name: - [Amazon.com](https://www.amazon.com/Good-Grips-3-piece-Silicone-Spatula/dp/B005PP9ACY/ref=sr_1_5?crid=G8T5VH9575ZU&dchild=1&keywords=spatula&qid=1611066599&sprefix=Spatula%2Caps%2C239&sr=8-5&pldnSite=1) _But_ I call that one a “rubber spatula” or “silicone spatula” and I never have any problems with confustion. So, yes, in the end, I agree that this is a perfect example for the OP’s question! ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2021, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-things-that-have-the-same-name-where-you-live-and-nobody-gets-confused/930739/108 "2021-01-19T16:47:00Z")
> [@kitap](#): > > These are [spatulas.](https://smile.amazon.com/Good-Grips-3-piece-Silicone-Spatula/dp/B005PP9ACY/ref=sr_1_5?crid=G8T5VH9575ZU&dchild=1&keywords=spatula&qid=1611066599&sprefix=Spatula%2Caps%2C239&sr=8-5) > > This is also [A spatula.](https://smile.amazon.com/Chef-Craft-12510-Turner-1-Pack/dp/B00B0M5LQK/ref=sr_1_7?crid=G8T5VH9575ZU&dchild=1&keywords=spatula&qid=1611066599&sprefix=Spatula%2Caps%2C239&sr=8-7) also @acsenray – I would call the ones at the first link spatulas, and the one at the second link a pancake turner. Spatulas may have blades of varying shapes, and the blades may be made of rubber or silicon or some kinds of plastic. Some of them can be used in a hot pan, but a lot of them can’t. Pancake turners also have some variation of shape. They usually have metal blades, and the blade is stiffer than the blade of spatulas. The handles also generally attach at a different angle, to help keep your hand off the hot pans they’re meant to be used in. I googled “silicon scraper” and got a whole batch of things, some of which I’d call spatulas and some of which I wouldn’t. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2021, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-things-that-have-the-same-name-where-you-live-and-nobody-gets-confused/930739/109 "2021-01-19T16:55:49Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > Pancake turners I just asked 3 women (one at a time) what they turn their pancakes with. One said, “with a spatula” and looked at me like I was an idiot. One looked confused, and mentioned waiting till little bubbles form, then using a spatula. One explained that she doesn’t really cook, and definitely nothing as complicated as pancakes. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2021, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-things-that-have-the-same-name-where-you-live-and-nobody-gets-confused/930739/110 "2021-01-19T17:03:06Z")
Why only women? – pancakes don’t strike me as complicated; while it’s possible to make complicated ones, simple ones are about as basic as you can get. But in any case, pancakes aren’t the only thing I turn with a pancake turner; it might be eggs or burgers or potatoes or anything that’s cooking in a suitable pan. It’s possible that ‘spatula’ versus ‘pancake turner’ is regional, in which case if you ask multiple people in a given region you might well get the same answer. I’ve shared houses with people from a whole batch of places; once I figured out the existence of the terminology problem I didn’t try to keep track of a pattern of who called a pancake turner a spatula and who didn’t. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2021, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-things-that-have-the-same-name-where-you-live-and-nobody-gets-confused/930739/111 "2021-01-19T17:11:27Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > Why only women? Because I’m at work and other than me there are 3 women in the building. Why do you ask? ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2021, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-things-that-have-the-same-name-where-you-live-and-nobody-gets-confused/930739/112 "2021-01-19T17:22:48Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > It might be a silicon frosting spatula - which I use to scrape bowls. But I’ve also seen a silicon bench scraper called a “spatula”. Sorry to be pedantic, but this is a minor pet peeve of mine. It’s “silicone”, not “silicon”. Silicone is a soft rubbery polymer. Silicon is a hard brittle semiconducting element. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2021, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-things-that-have-the-same-name-where-you-live-and-nobody-gets-confused/930739/113 "2021-01-19T17:53:15Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Well, from my point of view, these three are pretty much the same thing I think the deciding factor is: are they all available at [Spatula City](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BUDwj_mXKE)? ---
**Author:** ![pirviii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pirviii/32/3233_2.png) [@pirviii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pirviii)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2021, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-things-that-have-the-same-name-where-you-live-and-nobody-gets-confused/930739/114 "2021-01-19T21:03:46Z")
Why is it a pancake turner? I use it for french toast, grilled cheese as well as pancakes. These names were something my step-mom was big into and I still call it a spatula. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2021, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-things-that-have-the-same-name-where-you-live-and-nobody-gets-confused/930739/115 "2021-01-20T00:01:58Z")
What you guys call a pancake turner, i would call a fish slice. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2021, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-things-that-have-the-same-name-where-you-live-and-nobody-gets-confused/930739/116 "2021-01-20T00:36:42Z")
Fascinating. This is what the US calls a fish spatula: [https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&tbm=isch&source=hp&q=fish+spatula](https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&tbm=isch&source=hp&q=fish+spatula) The odd asymmetrical shape and almost full-length slots are what mark it out for fish use. Non-slotted spatulas are not for fish. In an unappetizing development a very similar tool is used by janitors to strain cigarette butts from sand-based ashtrays. I can never use a fish spatula for fish without thinking of scooping disgusting nasty butts out of stinky polluted sand. Oops. Yuckk! Calling any manner of hand tool for picking up or turning food a “slice” is not US usage. AFAIK. Although I (now) know you’re quoting UK usage. Are other food scooping or turning devices termed “slices” in UK parlance? ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2021, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-things-that-have-the-same-name-where-you-live-and-nobody-gets-confused/930739/117 "2021-01-20T01:06:23Z")
Yeah, I have never heard a spatula called a “pancake turner” before. Honestly it strikes me as something a little kid would come up with because they forgot what it was called. “Daddy, I want to watch you turn over the pancakes with the, uh… um, pancake turner!” ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2021, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-things-that-have-the-same-name-where-you-live-and-nobody-gets-confused/930739/118 "2021-01-20T01:23:11Z")
> [@pirviii](#): > > Why is it a pancake turner? I don’t know. Why call it a spatula? Why is anything called anything? While it might make more sense to just call it a turner – as one of those links did – that seems to be such a general term as to be almost meaningless. Turn the bed? turn table legs? turning vehicle tires? It’s a specific kind of turner, one that’s used to turn things cooking in a hot pan. But calling it a ‘pan turner’ sounds as if it’s meant to turn the pan, not its contents. There could be a whole lot of different things in a pan that might need turning; but the particular item that shares the name of the pan it’s used in is one of the common things that gets so turned, and maybe was one of the most common ones when and where the tool picked up that name. Pancakes, in one form or another, are one of the most basic foods there are. ---
**Author:** ![mikecurtis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikecurtis/32/3284_2.png) [@mikecurtis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikecurtis)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2021, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-things-that-have-the-same-name-where-you-live-and-nobody-gets-confused/930739/119 "2021-01-20T01:35:44Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > Why call it a spatula? > The word spatula derives from the Latin word for a flat piece of wood or splint, a diminutive form of the Latin spatha, meaning ‘broadsword’, and hence can also refer to a tongue depressor. The words spade (digging tool) and spathe are similarly derived. .[Spatula - Wikipedia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spatula#:~:text=The%20word%20spatula%20derives%20from,and%20spathe%20are%20similarly%20derived). ---
**Author:** ![pirviii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pirviii/32/3233_2.png) [@pirviii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pirviii)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2021, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-things-that-have-the-same-name-where-you-live-and-nobody-gets-confused/930739/120 "2021-01-20T02:28:31Z")
How about a generic term like food turner? I use mine for more then pancakes. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-things-that-have-the-same-name-where-you-live-and-nobody-gets-confused/930739.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-things-that-have-the-same-name-where-you-live-and-nobody-gets-confused/930739.md?page=7)