Plastic. the original meaning was a flexible substance that may be molded, like clay. The majority of modern “plastic” items are nothing like that.
Australian Shepherds. I don’t know if they’re ever used to herd sheep or not but there’s certainly nothing Australian about them.
Bad example: This is an example of semantic shift, not a non-indicative name.
My wife and I were wondering about this just the other day. Turns out that one of the definitions for “Bald” is “white coloration on the face or head.”
.
Tins (i.e. tin cans) are likely to be aluminium or steel. They sometimes have a thin layer of tin, but it is never the main substance.
Lead (as in pencils) are made from graphite and clay.
Chalks (for writing on a blackboard) are made of gypsum.
Catgut is made from sheep guts.
The finished items can’t be moulded, but the substance itself is very mouldable, which is why it’s used so much.
The puff adder is neither puffy nor knowledgeable in any areas of mathematics.
It’s a snake
It was misnamed on purpose, becasue Iceland was where the Vikings wanted to conquer, and Greenland was a useless wasteland.
Nor are fires or lightning the sources of their illumination.
Should be called “suck fun”.
Hot water heater
Happy hour.
::sobs into beer::
But all of these are examples of modern items retaining the name of the materials they were originally made from.
Not lead pencils. They’ve never had lead in them.
n/m, already mentioned.
You can write on paper with lead. It leaves a grey streak. Pencil lead was developed in an attempt to adapt the principle to an actual writing instrument. Lead didn’t work, so a substitute was developed, and called by the same name by way of analogy.
Lobster l’Americaine
Or Armoricain
Or neither, since they both don’t make much sense.
Also, just thought of: zuppa inglese: Italian custard
Wrong. Catgut was never made out of any part of a cat.
Cat walk.
It does if you make it right. My sister still makes mincemeat with roast beef, although she now uses apple juice instead of suet.
Is there some way the Brits distinguish these muffins from the unfrosted cupcake-style quick bread Americans refer to as “muffins,” or how do we know the Muffin Man sold this kind of muffin? It seems to me I’ve read British novels that refer to chocolate muffins. Also, I’ve always heard that English muffins are actually a bad take on crumpets. Not so?