# Is flatware/cutlery another of those US/non-US terminology things? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 2, 2005, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-flatware-cutlery-another-of-those-us-non-us-terminology-things/329052 "2005-11-02T05:34:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2005, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-flatware-cutlery-another-of-those-us-non-us-terminology-things/329052/1 "2005-11-02T05:34:27Z")
I’m referring to this thread: [Why do restaurants make you reuse your flatware from one part of the meal to the next?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=342605) The title intrigued me, because I had never heard the term “flatware”, although it was pretty obvious that it meant knives, forks and spoons, for which I’d use the term “cutlery”. ---
**Author:** ![anyrose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/54ee81/32.png) [@anyrose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anyrose)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2005, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-flatware-cutlery-another-of-those-us-non-us-terminology-things/329052/2 "2005-11-02T05:37:24Z")
flatware, at least in my experience, refers to the everyday utensils, and silverware is the good stuff that had to be polished before holiday dinners ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2005, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-flatware-cutlery-another-of-those-us-non-us-terminology-things/329052/3 "2005-11-02T05:50:29Z")
> [@](#): > > Is flatware/cutlery another of those US/non-US terminology things? Yep. Only ever heard seppos refer to cluttery as flatware. At first I thought it referred to flat plates, ie: not-bowls. ---
**Author:** ![anyrose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/54ee81/32.png) [@anyrose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anyrose)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2005, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-flatware-cutlery-another-of-those-us-non-us-terminology-things/329052/4 "2005-11-02T05:52:35Z")
> [@Askance](#): > > Yep. Only ever heard seppos refer to cluttery as flatware. At first I thought it referred to flat plates, ie: not-bowls. “seppos”? what or who is a “seppo”? ---
**Author:** ![MrJackboots](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MrJackboots](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrJackboots)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2005, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-flatware-cutlery-another-of-those-us-non-us-terminology-things/329052/5 "2005-11-02T05:56:00Z")
> [@anyrose](#): > > “seppos”? what or who is a “seppo”? [An American, apparently.](http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=seppo) ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2005, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-flatware-cutlery-another-of-those-us-non-us-terminology-things/329052/6 "2005-11-02T05:56:23Z")
> [@anyrose](#): > > “seppos”? what or who is a “seppo”? Americans. From the rhyming slang “Septic tank = Yank” and then abbreviated, in the traditional Australian manner, to “seppo”. ---
**Author:** ![GrizzRich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7ba0ec/32.png) [@GrizzRich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrizzRich)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2005, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-flatware-cutlery-another-of-those-us-non-us-terminology-things/329052/7 "2005-11-02T06:36:39Z")
A British friend of ours recently sent us an _English-American/American-English_ phrasebook. One of the damndest funny things I’ve read in a great while. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2005, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-flatware-cutlery-another-of-those-us-non-us-terminology-things/329052/8 "2005-11-02T11:23:32Z")
> [@GrizzRich](#): > > A British friend of ours recently sent us an _English-American/American-English_ phrasebook. > > One of the damndest funny things I’ve read in a great while. I read something of the sort, written by an American, and it was indeed exceedingly funny. It would have been less _unintentionally_ funny had he had an English co-author, methought. Now excuse me, I’ve just seen someone with a fag in the office and I’m going to tell him to take the filthy thing outside… ---
**Author:** ![calm\_kiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@calm\_kiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/calm_kiwi)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2005, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-flatware-cutlery-another-of-those-us-non-us-terminology-things/329052/9 "2005-11-02T11:37:52Z")
That thread was the first time I ever heard the term ‘flatware’. At first I thought it meant crockery, on further reading I realised it meant cutlery. My next thought was Americans complain about service here yet they don’t have to tip and ALWAYS get fresh cutlery with every course? The world is a diverse place, ain’t it. ---
**Author:** ![uglybeech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/82dd89/32.png) [@uglybeech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/uglybeech)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2005, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-flatware-cutlery-another-of-those-us-non-us-terminology-things/329052/10 "2005-11-02T11:46:47Z")
> [@Askance](#): > > Yep. Only ever heard seppos refer to cluttery as flatware. At first I thought it referred to flat plates, ie: not-bowls. Uh, actually I think silverware is by the far most common term (at least up here in the Northeast) - even when referring to everyday utensils. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2005, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-flatware-cutlery-another-of-those-us-non-us-terminology-things/329052/11 "2005-11-02T13:04:03Z")
Yes, the term we use around here is “silverware,” whether it’s silver or stainless. If we are referring to silverware that is actually made of silver, we just call it “silver.” As in “Please set the table with the good dishes and the silver.” Stainless steel silverware might be called “stainless” or just “regular silverware.” Or we might just say “utensils,” as in “you grab the plates, and I’ll get the utensils.” “Flatware” is the kind of term that is generally used if we’re trying to be correct about things. Like a store that sells tableware will probably take care to call the stainless forks, knives, and spoons “flatware” instead of “silverware” so that nobody gets the wrong impression that it’s actually made of silver, or accuses them of false advertising. Similarly, if I were starting a thread here about restaurant silverware, I’d probably make sure to call it flatware, so as to head off the inevitable nitpicking. “Cutlery” is a term that is used more to refer to knives only. Like a “cutlery store” would stock a variety of types of knives and associated items. I’m sure I’ve heard “cutlery” used to describe regular forks, knives, and spoons, but it’s pretty uncommon. If I heard someone here using it that way, I’d assume they were being kind of pretentious, or deliberately old-fashioned. Like calling a pot a “cauldron” or the table a “board.” ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2005, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-flatware-cutlery-another-of-those-us-non-us-terminology-things/329052/12 "2005-11-02T13:07:09Z")
> [@calm kiwi](#): > > That thread was the first time I ever heard the term ‘flatware’. At first I thought it meant crockery, on further reading I realised it meant cutlery. Oh, yeah. And we wouldn’t say “crockery” either. We’d say “dishes.” ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2005, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-flatware-cutlery-another-of-those-us-non-us-terminology-things/329052/13 "2005-11-02T13:39:34Z")
Since cutlers make cutlery, do crockers make crockery? And I’ve even heard “silverware” used to describe plastic knives and forks. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2005, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-flatware-cutlery-another-of-those-us-non-us-terminology-things/329052/14 "2005-11-02T13:48:13Z")
Hmm. I’d never heard “flatware” until I saw it on the SDMB. I come from a ‘cutlery and crockery’ family, but you can also say “the knives and forks”, and that includes spoons… ‘Dishes’ are, well, dishes, not bowls as well. The hideous pile of filthy everything in the sink is “the washing up”, which you “do” (or not). We don’t “do the dishes”. “Silverware” is also used, to mean the expensive cutlery, or you can call it “the good silver”. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2005, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-flatware-cutlery-another-of-those-us-non-us-terminology-things/329052/15 "2005-11-02T14:11:22Z")
In my area people say silverware. Your at a friends house “Where’s your silverware drawer?” At a holiday “Where’s the good silverware?” this being actual silver plated. Store’s with a sign print cutlery and the boxes are labeled flatware. It’s no wonder why people can never find the silverware in a store. They always have to ask a clerk. When you want a container to drink from “I need a glass.” Doesn’t this mean you want a magnifying lens in a few other countries. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2005, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-flatware-cutlery-another-of-those-us-non-us-terminology-things/329052/16 "2005-11-02T14:48:21Z")
Here’s my old thread about silverware/flatware/whatever: > **[Please tell me about soup spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=302609)** > > I have been partially “adopted” by my major professor’s family, and have dinner with them frequently. He and his wife were born in Russia in the 1940s, and his wife had–somehow, please don’t ask for the details, because it doesn’t make sense to me... ---
**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:** [November 2, 2005, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-flatware-cutlery-another-of-those-us-non-us-terminology-things/329052/17 "2005-11-02T15:24:49Z")
Chiming in to say – The usual term is “silverware” or sometimes “utensils,” if you have to ask the waiter for them. “Flatware” is a department store term, like “apparel.” It’s not a word you’d use in ordinary conversation. “Cutlery” is what they sell at the fancy knife shop. You won’t get spoons or forks there. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2005, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-flatware-cutlery-another-of-those-us-non-us-terminology-things/329052/18 "2005-11-02T15:36:39Z")
> [@Cunctator](#): > > I’m referring to this thread: [Why do restaurants make you reuse your flatware from one part of the meal to the next?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=342605) > > The title intrigued me, because I had never heard the term “flatware”, although it was pretty obvious that it meant knives, forks and spoons, for which I’d use the term “cutlery”. Here in America, we don’t usually cut things with our spoons 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2005, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-flatware-cutlery-another-of-those-us-non-us-terminology-things/329052/19 "2005-11-02T22:19:17Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > “Flatware” is a department store term, like “apparel.” It’s not a word you’d use in ordinary conversation. . And as such, it comprises all such utensils you would find for sale, from stainless, to silverplate, to sterling. (Does anyone sell gold flatware?). You don’t see much sterling anymore. Many people melted theirs down in the late 1970s, when the price went to $50/oz, but I’ve noticed that major stores don’t sell it like they used to. It’s not as popular as it once was. ---
**Author:** ![Rodd\_Hill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3ab097/32.png) [@Rodd\_Hill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodd_Hill)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2005, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-flatware-cutlery-another-of-those-us-non-us-terminology-things/329052/20 "2005-11-02T23:20:09Z")
Flatware/silverware = utensils. Hollowware = pitchers, bowls, ewers, teapots, chocolate pots, etc. “Gutwrenches” is how one ex-soldier I know refers to cutlery. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-flatware-cutlery-another-of-those-us-non-us-terminology-things/329052.md?page=2)