# Misleading/inaccurate advertising terms: hand-scraped floors and homemade soup **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 28, 2023, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misleading-inaccurate-advertising-terms-hand-scraped-floors-and-homemade-soup/995276 "2023-12-28T13:57:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2023, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misleading-inaccurate-advertising-terms-hand-scraped-floors-and-homemade-soup/995276/21 "2023-12-28T18:49:28Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > How good is a bare human hand at scraping a floor? Any sense of ‘hand-scraped’ includes some device or tool, unless they’re scraping it with their fingernails, so ‘hand-scraped’ is semantically incorrect right out of the gate, if you care about semantics. So, “by hand” to you means no use of tools? Someone says they baked a cake themself. Did they grow and mill the flour? Bake it through body heat? Impressive, to encounter someone even more pedantic than I. ---
**Author:** ![Ynnad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4491bb/32.png) [@Ynnad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ynnad)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2023, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misleading-inaccurate-advertising-terms-hand-scraped-floors-and-homemade-soup/995276/22 "2023-12-28T19:07:10Z")
I used to drive past a grocery store on the way to work every day that advertised “ho-made pies.” I don’t know if the description was accurate or not. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2023, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misleading-inaccurate-advertising-terms-hand-scraped-floors-and-homemade-soup/995276/23 "2023-12-28T19:24:12Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > And I really do not think anyone lives in the restaurant kitchens where they make homemade soups, or that the soups are shipped in from someone’s private household kitchen. If asked, a local sports bar will freely admit that the soup-of-the-day comes from a can of Campbell’s. The closest thing to handmade in the daily soup and sandwich lunch special is the sandwich, where the cook slaps together some ham and a slice of cheese between two slices of toast. As they say, they’re a sports bar, not a fine dining establishment. What puzzles me is Tito’s Handmade Vodka. Is Tito distilling this stuff in his bathtub? How do you even hand-make a distilled spirit? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2023, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misleading-inaccurate-advertising-terms-hand-scraped-floors-and-homemade-soup/995276/24 "2023-12-28T19:26:50Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > What puzzles me is Tito’s Handmade Vodka. Is Tito distilling this stuff in his bathtub? How do you even hand-make a distilled spirit? - Technically, hot air _is_ a part of distilling. ---
**Author:** ![songsoflovetrouble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@songsoflovetrouble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/songsoflovetrouble)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2023, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misleading-inaccurate-advertising-terms-hand-scraped-floors-and-homemade-soup/995276/25 "2023-12-28T19:40:21Z")
> [@mtnmatt](#): > > One of the Asian chains (Panda Express?) is now calling their food “scratch made” which i suppose is always true at some stage in the prep. You can go into any Panda Express, look into their open kitchen, and see people chopping vegetables, mixing sauces, and cooking things in woks. It may not be gourmet Chinese cuisine but it’s as “made from scratch” as anything else. ---
**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:** [December 28, 2023, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misleading-inaccurate-advertising-terms-hand-scraped-floors-and-homemade-soup/995276/26 "2023-12-28T19:57:17Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > What puzzles me is Tito’s Handmade Vodka. Is Tito distilling this stuff in his bathtub? How do you even hand-make a distilled spirit? There’s a craft distillery I’ve visited a few times. They talk about small-batch distillation. I forget the specifics, but each batch is numbered, as are the bottles filled from that batch. Tito’s isn’t distilled in small batches, but it is hood vodka IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Redcanoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b487fb/32.png) [@Redcanoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Redcanoe)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2023, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misleading-inaccurate-advertising-terms-hand-scraped-floors-and-homemade-soup/995276/27 "2023-12-28T20:05:21Z")
> **[The Floor Planers - Gustave Caillebotte - Google Arts & Culture](https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/the-floor-planers/0wHXxVpb7UjLNA?hl=en&ms=%7B%22x%22%3A0.5%2C%22y%22%3A0.5%2C%22z%22%3A9.435764501842575%2C%22size%22%3A%7B%22width%22%3A1.7274190577636865%2C%22height%22%3A1.2375000000000003%7D%7D)** > > This painting is one of the first representations of urban proletariat. > Whereas peasants (Gleaners by Millet) or country workers (Stone Breakers by > Courbet... This is a hand scraped floor. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2023, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misleading-inaccurate-advertising-terms-hand-scraped-floors-and-homemade-soup/995276/28 "2023-12-28T21:07:59Z")
The one that annoys me is buy one get the second one 50% off. IMHO it would be less misleading to say buy two and get 25% off both. My guess is the reason they do this is to take advantage of people who are not very mathematically literate, the idea being to get them to think that 50% off is better than 25% off, and that buying one is cheaper than buying two. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2023, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misleading-inaccurate-advertising-terms-hand-scraped-floors-and-homemade-soup/995276/29 "2023-12-28T21:21:00Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > > [@Dinsdale](#): > > > > I really do not think anyone lives in the restaurant kitchens where they make homemade soups, or that the soups are shipped in from someone’s private household kitchen. > > I’ve seen more restaurants using “house-made” for items made in-house. The term I see more in use for such things (and by NO means is it limited to food) is “homestyle”. Which is… well, not quite as much puffery, but OMFG, do they apply it to anything they want in order to evoke that emotional response. > **[Definition of HOMESTYLE](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/homestyle)** > > having qualities (such as simplicity, familiarity, and unpretentiousness) associated with or evocative of home and especially home-cooked food… See the full definition Riiiiight up there with “Artisanal” and “Rustic” in terms of information-empty appeals to marketing. At least, as to how they’re normally used. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2023, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misleading-inaccurate-advertising-terms-hand-scraped-floors-and-homemade-soup/995276/30 "2023-12-28T21:33:24Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > My mother used to work in the office of a company called Grandma’s Cookies. I didn’t suppose the cookies were made by anyone’s grandma, I only cared how many of them I could stuff into my face. Didn’t they make those pink and white animal crackers (cookies)? I still have an unreasonable fondness for those. If a soup is made from scratch in a restaurant kitchen, I don’t have any problem with it being called homemade. If it were made anywhere else – including an actual home – I wouldn’t think it fit. > [@Dinsdale](#): > > > [@kayaker](#): > > > > I’ve seen more restaurants using “house-made” for items made in-house. > > Funny, I’ve never seen that usage. I have. It’s becoming more common here in SoCal. Homemade these days has a bit of a connotation of old-fashioned. I don’t see the “homestyle” much. I think because it sounds fake. Isn’t there even a brand of bread called Home Style? ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2023, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misleading-inaccurate-advertising-terms-hand-scraped-floors-and-homemade-soup/995276/31 "2023-12-28T21:48:42Z")
There is a well known takeaway chicken place up the road from where I used to live. They have signs up for their “famous” chips that have been “voted the best chips and gravy in Sydney.” A friend once asked the guy serving him who voted them into this exalted position. He tilted his head toward the other staff and said, “We did.” ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2023, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misleading-inaccurate-advertising-terms-hand-scraped-floors-and-homemade-soup/995276/32 "2023-12-28T21:55:17Z")
I don’t think that’s why - I think it’s because of the (many, many) people who insist that " buy one get one free" means they have to be allowed to buy one for half price. Because after all , one at $4 plus one free means they are really $2 each. Any way you could say “buy two get 25% off each” will have people wanting to buy a single one for $3, since two would be $6 ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2023, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misleading-inaccurate-advertising-terms-hand-scraped-floors-and-homemade-soup/995276/33 "2023-12-28T22:00:40Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > Didn’t they make those pink and white animal crackers (cookies)? I still have an unreasonable fondness for those. Not the large multi-regional company, this was a smaller and unrelated local company that sold only within a region of 100 miles or so of the home office (and where the large company did not market their stuff). ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2023, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misleading-inaccurate-advertising-terms-hand-scraped-floors-and-homemade-soup/995276/34 "2023-12-28T22:10:43Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > I don’t think that’s why - I think it’s because of the (many, many) people who insist that " buy one get one free" means they have to be allowed to buy one for half price. Because after all , one at $4 plus one free means they are really $2 each. Any way you could say “buy two get 25% off each” will have people wanting to buy a single one for $3, since two would be $6 With but one get one free that makes sense. But the buy one get one half off seems wrong to me. It’s not just the 50% vs. 25%. It’s the use of “get” when in reality what they mean is you have to buy a second one, you’re not just getting it. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2023, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misleading-inaccurate-advertising-terms-hand-scraped-floors-and-homemade-soup/995276/35 "2023-12-28T22:17:20Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > There is a well known takeaway chicken place up the road from where I used to live. They have signs up for their “famous” chips that have been “voted the best chips and gravy in Sydney.” A friend once asked the guy serving him who voted them into this exalted position. He tilted his head toward the other staff and said, “We did.” On the other hand, I live around the corner from a place that claims to have the “Best sabich in the universe”. The thing is, they aren’t necessarily wrong. Sabich, which is a type of sandwich, is only really sold in Israel, and my neighborhood place is probably the most famous sabich stand in the country and definitely the most famous landmark in my city (pop. 50,000). It also makes a really, really good sandwich - I’ve never seen a ranking of the top 5 sabichs in the country that didn’t include it. So the place is a good contender for the best sabich stand in Israel, and if it is, that means that it’s also probably the best sabich stand in the world. As to whether it’s the best sabich stand in the entire universe, that depends on whether the universe is infinite or not. If it is, then logically, the universe has an infinite number of sabich stands of equal or better quality. If the universe is finite, though, then the chance that sabich is made on some other planet is infinitely small, so I’d have to say that my neighborhood joint is the best in the universe. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2023, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misleading-inaccurate-advertising-terms-hand-scraped-floors-and-homemade-soup/995276/36 "2023-12-28T22:22:17Z")
> [@mtnmatt](#): > > now calling their food “scratch made” which i suppose is always true at some stage in the prep. “If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe” > [@doreen](#): > > “House-made” gets to me more. “House” just means the building in that context, though. Like “house wine.” ---
**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:** [December 28, 2023, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misleading-inaccurate-advertising-terms-hand-scraped-floors-and-homemade-soup/995276/37 "2023-12-28T22:30:35Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > I assume you’re talking about "banana loaf or something similar - that doesn’t bother me, it’s short for a “slice of banana loaf cake” just like “cheesecake” or “pound cake” or “apple pie” on a restaurant dessert menu doesn’t mean I’m getting the entire cake/pie. And for that matter, when one orders “meatloaf”, one never gets the whole loaf. > [@mtnmatt](#): > > One of the Asian chains (Panda Express?) is now calling their food “scratch made” which i suppose is always true at some stage in the prep. As Carl Sagan once pointed out, to bake an apple pie from scratch, one must first create the Universe. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2023, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misleading-inaccurate-advertising-terms-hand-scraped-floors-and-homemade-soup/995276/38 "2023-12-28T22:41:39Z")
Our local Pizza joint, which is usually very good. They make a Pizza Rustica. Well, it’s neither pizza or rustic. Looks like a Hot Pocket. Tastes worse. I swear they buy them pre-made off a truck and drop them in a deep fryer. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2023, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misleading-inaccurate-advertising-terms-hand-scraped-floors-and-homemade-soup/995276/39 "2023-12-28T23:44:06Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > And for that matter, when one orders “meatloaf”, one never gets the whole loaf. That’s… actually a really good point. I may have to re-think my irritation at the usage. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2023, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misleading-inaccurate-advertising-terms-hand-scraped-floors-and-homemade-soup/995276/40 "2023-12-29T00:29:43Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > So, “by hand” to you means no use of tools? > > Someone says they baked a cake themself. Did they grow and mill the flour? Bake it through body heat? > **[A man spent six months and $1,500 making a sandwich from scratch](https://www.theverge.com/2015/9/17/9344597/man-spent-six-months-1500-making-sandwich-from-scratch)** > > Welp But of course that slacker started _way_ too late: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/7s664NsLeFM/hqdefault.jpg "Carl Sagan: If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe.") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7s664NsLeFM) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misleading-inaccurate-advertising-terms-hand-scraped-floors-and-homemade-soup/995276.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misleading-inaccurate-advertising-terms-hand-scraped-floors-and-homemade-soup/995276.md?page=3)