Does that mean they’re getting you drunk or have got my Englishism mixed around?
Taking the piss, are ya?
Now lets fight about what “Canadian” bacon is to the British or for that matter, to Canadians. I wonder what they call it.
I look at the Reddit Fryup forum and lust after the bacon and sausages .Not so much the beans and black pudding.
I was wondering the same thing about Canadian bacon in England, but the menu linked above doesn’t have that as an option.
What do they call French fries in France? What do they call waffles in Belgium? Is German Chocolate Cake from Germany?
Canadians usually call it back bacon.
Herein is another example of English people in England using the term “English muffins.” (approx. 2:20)
When I was teaching English in Czechoslovakia, I constantly had to explain things like Swiss cheese and American cheese, even to the local English teachers. The names meant nothing to them, other than (they assumed) where the cheeses were made.
I also had to explain that “Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean” was not about a country in South America.
Yeah, Swiss isn’t going to get you anywhere for cheese, as Switzerland has plenty of cheeses. Emmenthaler or some variation there would be known, though, for the holey cheese.
That’s precisely what I told them.
With cheese.
that’ll probably be because they are on t’internet and know they need to make the distinction for an international audience. In normal interactions in the UK pretty much no-one feels the need to use the “English” prefix
Bacon is designated as back, middle, streaky, chop etc. with smoked, dry cured, sweet cured etc. variations thereof. I don’t know what Canadian Bacon is.
I believe what Americans call Canadian bacon is what we call back bacon. It seems they think that’s what we always eat, but of course we also have streaky bacon in equal measure. Here’s Sainsburys to clear it all up for everyone.
I would agree that most Brits would just say “muffin”, as we’re only familiar with one kind.
But I would disagree that they are likely using the term for the sake of an international audience. I’ve heard “english muffin” a lot, particularly if someone is being descriptive about the components of a dish (i.e. “This is an english muffin, with poached eggs, a hollandaise sauce” vs a simple sentence like "I haven’t had muffins in a while).
I’d question who is describing it and to whom.
A UK person to a UK person? there’d really be no need to describe the ingredient of eggs benedict as an “english muffin” as there’d simply be no chance of any confusion.
Yeah, I agree, I can’t think I’ve ever heard a Brit spell out ‘english muffin’. They’re just muffins, and it’s clear there’s different kinds depending on context. I suspect a lot of Brits (I’m channeling my parents here) aren’t aware that in some places muffins are called ‘english muffins’. I can just imagine the conversation with my Dad (who is 94):
Me: Dad, do you want an english muffin
Dad: What the bleedin hell is an English muffin?
Me: It’s just a muffin
Dad: Well what are you calling it that for?
Me: Never mind, here’s your muffin
I believe you when you say that you’ve never heard an English person say “English muffin”. Fine.
However, it seems a bad extrapolation for you to maintain that this is true of all English, when other English people living in England (like me) are saying they have heard it. Plus all of the various cites so far, from Tesco, to McDonalds, to the video of Brits eating together (and here’s another: JamieOliver.com).
I’m sure you are aware of Jamie Oliver’s global audience. And MacDonald’s, for that matter. Tesco probably think it’s trendy. I note Sainsbury’s, Asda and Waitrose all have resisted.