# Does the term "full English" get used outside UK? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 11, 2019, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-term-full-english-get-used-outside-uk/833821 "2019-05-11T10:24:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2019, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-term-full-english-get-used-outside-uk/833821/41 "2019-05-12T01:28:34Z")
> [@Richard\_Pearse](#): > > “Full English breakfast” is a common term in Australia and New Zealand. Never heard it in Canada. I think Aus and NZ have stronger ties to British language and culture. Canada has been considerably US-ified. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2019, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-term-full-english-get-used-outside-uk/833821/42 "2019-05-12T01:55:33Z")
I’ve never heard the term “Full English” without the word “breakfast” also. And like others, I’ve never seen it offered in the US. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2019, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-term-full-english-get-used-outside-uk/833821/43 "2019-05-12T02:04:25Z")
Why would it? It’s an English term. Does “green chile cheeseburger” get used outside of New Mexico? Does “a double order of stuffies and a coffee cabinet” GT used outside of Rhode Island? ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2019, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-term-full-english-get-used-outside-uk/833821/44 "2019-05-12T02:04:39Z")
> [@Mr\_Shine](#): > > Would a Frenchman describe such a plate of stodge as an “English breakfast?” Stodge? > [@MikeS](#): > > The phrase “continental breakfast”, though, is much better known. Inexpensive hotels will often advertise a continental breakfast as part of their room rate. In practice, this usually means that they put out a buffet of pastries, coffee, yogurt, cold cereal, and juice, and guests can come help themselves. Nitpick - “some combination of…” I was in hotel - and it wasn’t some place out by the Interstate that looked like a strong wind would blow the siding off - where the continental breakfast was a box of donuts, and a pot of coffee. Maybe there were some single-serving containers of orange juice and milk somewhere. > [@septimus](#): > > “American breakfast”, when not in America, is eggs, hashed browns, toast and a meat (sausage or bacon), IIRC (English, but without the beans, mushrooms, etc.). Usually with coffee and a small orange juice. Not bad, but they forgot the pancakes/waffles with syrup. And the choice of multiple jams, honey, and marmalade for the toast. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2019, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-term-full-english-get-used-outside-uk/833821/45 "2019-05-12T02:10:35Z")
“Stodge” would be stodgy food, like sausages, gammon, white and black sausage, baked beans, etc. The French usually have a cup of **cafe au lait** and a roll for breakfast. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2019, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-term-full-english-get-used-outside-uk/833821/46 "2019-05-12T02:17:21Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Yes, I too would like to know how **digs** fits nine or ten breakfasts into the average week. Maybe it was a slip for “nine or ten times a month”? Naah, it was just wishful thinking, daydreaming about how much I love breakfasts. Though I often have cereal before I leave home, then meet up with a friend late morning for the We-Don’t-Care-If-You’re-Full American Breakfast\*. So I’m on board with the Hobbit “Second Breakfast” concept. \*Shout out to Madison, WI for having very creative breakfast joints. From Marigold, with their Sweet Potato and Duck Confit Hash, to Mickie’s Dairy Bar, where they butterfly cinnamon rolls for french toast… to Short Stack’s “Blind Special” (if you don’t ask what it is, it’s half price… and it’s always the chef getting creative and playful). ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2019, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-term-full-english-get-used-outside-uk/833821/47 "2019-05-12T04:13:23Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > Never heard it in Canada. I think Aus and NZ have stronger ties to British language and culture. Canada has been considerably US-ified. A number of establishments in Toronto offer Full Breakfasts, both British and Irish. The GTA has a very diverse population. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2019, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-term-full-english-get-used-outside-uk/833821/48 "2019-05-12T04:37:02Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > When I saw the thread title, I thought “Does he mean a big breakfast?”. So at least some Americans know it. I’d be more inclined to think of a “full Irish breakfast”, but that’s probably just because I’ve been to Ireland and stayed in B&Bs, but haven’t been to England. And I’m not sure what, if anything, the precise difference would be between a full English and a full Irish (I expect there’s a lot of variation and overlap in both). > > “Continental breakfast” is known in the US, mostly, as **MikeS** said, in connection with hotels. With how Americans are with food and portion sizes, though, it’s tended to inflate, and nowadays a lot of places that offer “continental breakfast” will also include make-your-own waffles and hot cereal. I, too, read the thread title and wondered, “does he mean an English breakfast”? So there are a few more Americans who know it. I like the English breakfast. I like moderately bland food at breakfast time. I don’t usually eat that much for breakfast, but when I’m traveling, I often do, and an English breakfast is quite nice. Although I suppose I like what I have been served in Germany and Scandinavia even more (heavy bread with sliced sausage, cheese, and liverwurst, muesli and good milk, maybe some hard boiled eggs…) ---
**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 12, 2019, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-term-full-english-get-used-outside-uk/833821/49 "2019-05-12T04:44:32Z")
Out of curiosity, is there any difference between the terms “full English” and “fry up”? I spent several months living and working in the UK, and the terms seem synonymous to me, but perhaps I am missing a cultural nuance. At any rate, I’ve had more than my share of “full breakfasts” when I lived and worked in a Scottish kitchen. I was 20 at the time, so my body could take it, but for approximately the first 30 days working at that kitchen, I had a full breakfast (plus kippers; included black pudding) every single day. I do miss a good fry-up. I mean, no reason I can’t do it here, but I have to properly source the ingredients to duplicate the experience. And I always preferred the Heinz Baked Beans to American style baked beans, which were always way too sweet for my tastes (though the Heinz had a decent hit of sugar, too.) ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2019, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-term-full-english-get-used-outside-uk/833821/50 "2019-05-12T04:52:32Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > French people just don’t eat much for breakfast and even eggs and bacon would be very unusual. I often heard people expressing not just surprise but even disgust at the idea of eating anything significant in the morning, like a hot dish. But…but breakfast _is the most important meal of the day_! Truly - that’s how it is pushed here in the States :). You’ll see a number of health benefits touted if you search the web for that phrase and on quick glance it seems there is at least a bit of science behind it. But I was never a big breakfast eater until I got much older. The idea repulsed me a bit as a naturally early-rising kid. Now that I sleep in late I find it a lot more enticing. Re: The OP I know the term, but no it is not commonly used in the US IME. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2019, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-term-full-english-get-used-outside-uk/833821/51 "2019-05-12T04:54:04Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Out of curiosity, is there any difference between the terms “full English” and “fry up”? I spent several months living and working in the UK, and the terms seem synonymous to me, but perhaps I am missing a cultural nuance. At any rate, I’ve had more than my share of “full breakfasts” when I lived and worked in a Scottish kitchen. I was 20 at the time, so my body could take it, but for approximately the first 30 days working at that kitchen, I had a full breakfast (plus kippers; included black pudding) every single day. I do miss a good fry-up. I mean, no reason I can’t do it here, but I have to properly source the ingredients to duplicate the experience. “Fry up” pretty much covers it. There was an episode of _ **You Are What You Eat** _ where the subject’s wife deep-fried an egg for him in at least an inch of vegetable oil. I had never seen such a thing before! The guy on _ **Made in Spain** _ did the same thing the other day, using olive oil. So I guess it’s not all that uncommon. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2019, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-term-full-english-get-used-outside-uk/833821/52 "2019-05-12T14:17:50Z")
> [@digs](#): > > And there it was… the quickly-scrawled sign in a cafe window: \*\*Big English Breakfast • All day • With coffee • Come in! \*\* > > The plate was piled seven inches high with eggs, huge sausages, grilled to_mah_tos, baked beans and chips, and within minutes I was totally revived. I have never felt that huge of a change (both physically and psychologically) that quickly. But… but finish the story! Did you get a room or not? 🙂 > [@terentii](#): > > “Fry up” pretty much covers it. There was an episode of _ **You Are What You Eat** _ where the subject’s wife deep-fried an egg for him in at least an inch of vegetable oil. I had never seen such a thing before! Quiet you. Don’t be giving the state fair people any ideas. “Get’cher deep-fried egg sannich here!” Like a Monte Christo without the ham. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2019, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-term-full-english-get-used-outside-uk/833821/53 "2019-05-12T14:29:04Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > “Fry up” pretty much covers it. There was an episode of _ **You Are What You Eat** _ where the subject’s wife deep-fried an egg for him in at least an inch of vegetable oil. I had never seen such a thing before! > > The guy on _ **Made in Spain** _ did the same thing the other day, using olive oil. So I guess it’s not all that uncommon. José Andrés? That’s weird, I’ve seen him fry an egg and he did it with a normal amount of oil, which is nowhere near “an inch of olive oil” (what wasn’t normal was the purty envelope he made, but that’s why he’s a fancy chef and I’m not). ---
**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 12, 2019, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-term-full-english-get-used-outside-uk/833821/54 "2019-05-12T14:36:45Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > José Andrés? That’s weird, I’ve seen him fry an egg and he did it with a normal amount of oil, which is nowhere near “an inch of olive oil” (what wasn’t normal was the purty envelope he made, but that’s why he’s a fancy chef and I’m not). [Here apparently is a version of his fried egg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y07BEDYNnQc). I don’t think it’s actually Jose Andres frying it up. [Here’s an Instagram version](https://www.instagram.com/p/9wECF9J8kx/?hl=en) with him frying it up himself. Either way, both are much more than the typical amounts of oil, at least used here in the US. [Here’s Jacques Pepin](https://www.foodandwine.com/video/jacques-p%C3%A9pin-deep-fried-eggs) doing it with even more oil. Jose seems to prefer tipping the pan to make sure the egg is covered/mostly covered in oil, while Jacques just has a high oil level in the pan and doesn’t bother with the tilting and basting. It’s almost the same idea as an oil-basted egg, it looks like, but it looks like there’s about two to three times as much oil as I would use for oil-basting. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2019, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-term-full-english-get-used-outside-uk/833821/55 "2019-05-12T15:15:37Z")
> [@Mr\_Shine](#): > > In the UK a breakfast featuring a load of fried sausages, bacon, eggs, mushrooms and baked beans would generally be referred to as a “full English”, whereas a lighter breakfast, such as croissants would be “continental” Does this nomenclature exist outside the UK? Would a Frenchman describe such a plate of stodge as an “English breakfast?” I had a “full English” breakfast at a hotel in Detroit. It was as described above plus black pudding. I had never heard the term before. I enjoyed it very much. mmm ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2019, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-term-full-english-get-used-outside-uk/833821/56 "2019-05-12T15:23:47Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > It’s not a regular thing for most British people either, to be honest. A weekend hangover cure for many, I suspect. People with physically demanding jobs tend to pre-load at breakfast though. I assume you mean the “full” breakfast? What I meant is that over here even simply an egg is an extravaganza. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2019, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-term-full-english-get-used-outside-uk/833821/57 "2019-05-12T15:56:08Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > [Here apparently is a version of his fried egg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y07BEDYNnQc). I don’t think it’s actually Jose Andres frying it up. [Here’s an Instagram version](https://www.instagram.com/p/9wECF9J8kx/?hl=en) with him frying it up himself. Either way, both are much more than the typical amounts of oil, at least used here in the US. > > [Here’s Jacques Pepin](https://www.foodandwine.com/video/jacques-p%C3%A9pin-deep-fried-eggs) doing it with even more oil. Jose seems to prefer tipping the pan to make sure the egg is covered/mostly covered in oil, while Jacques just has a high oil level in the pan and doesn’t bother with the tilting and basting. It’s almost the same idea as an oil-basted egg, it looks like, but it looks like there’s about two to three times as much oil as I would use for oil-basting. Yep, that’s it. The woman in _ **YAWYE** _ used a spatula to press down on the egg and keep it immersed in the oil. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2019, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-term-full-english-get-used-outside-uk/833821/58 "2019-05-12T16:39:45Z")
I’m familiar with the term. Chicago is pretty Irish (see Chirish) and it should be trivially easy to find a place for a full Irish in a lot of neighborhoods. Full English might require travel more than a few miles but I’d think it would be easy enough to find. ---
**Author:** ![RobDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f07891/32.png) [@RobDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobDog)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2019, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-term-full-english-get-used-outside-uk/833821/59 "2019-05-12T16:57:53Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > I assume you mean the “full” breakfast? What I meant is that over here even simply an egg is an extravaganza. Yes, well. In some countries the working population requires a modest calorific intake and some rehydration in order to effectively carry out proper jobs. Other countries, where the main sources of employment are painting your face white and pretending to walk against an invisible wind, or writing interminably dull novels about tiny cakes, not so much. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2019, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-term-full-english-get-used-outside-uk/833821/60 "2019-05-12T22:29:47Z")
It sure was convenient when traveling in unfamiliar parts. We could load up at breakfast time, maybe have a little brown bread to tide us over during the day (seriously, that Irish brown bread was amazing), and be fine until evening, so we only had to find one restaurant a day instead of two. And a full \ breakfast is mostly a fry-up, but not every fry-up is a full \ breakfast. A fry-up is any meal consisting of eggs and unspecified other ingredients, in unspecified quantities, all fried. It could be eggs, sausage links, ham, bacon, black pudding, and potato hash all fried together (which still lacks beans, tomato, and/or mushrooms, brown bread, white toast, and tea to make a full breakfast), or it could be a single egg scrambled up with a little potato and nothing else. Do the French ever eat an omelet for breakfast, or is that strictly a dinner food? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-term-full-english-get-used-outside-uk/833821.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-term-full-english-get-used-outside-uk/833821.md?page=4)