# Shopping "carts" in the Queen's English **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 9, 2014, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shopping-carts-in-the-queens-english/688067 "2014-05-09T17:13:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2014, 8:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shopping-carts-in-the-queens-english/688067/21 "2014-05-10T08:53:06Z")
Just back from doing a spot of grocery shopping. I’ve never noticed before but, thanks to this thread, I observed that the place where the trolleys go back has signage above ‘Trolley Return’. ---
**Author:** ![spotthegerbil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@spotthegerbil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spotthegerbil)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2014, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shopping-carts-in-the-queens-english/688067/22 "2014-05-10T09:06:07Z")
It will be an exciting Saturday in the Gerbil household. This morning I’m probably going to have to go to Tesco for my messages. We are low on cheese, but they have a bogof on my favourite brand. I’ve got a relatively small car, but the boot is quite large. This afternoon, one of the local churches has organised a car boot sale. I will probably go a long and see if I can grab a bargain. messages - groceries bogof - buy one, get one free. boot - trunk car boot sale - guess… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Kiyoshi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e19adc/32.png) [@Kiyoshi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiyoshi)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2014, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shopping-carts-in-the-queens-english/688067/23 "2014-05-10T09:28:24Z")
> [@spotthegerbil](#): > > messages - groceries Really?! I’ve never heard this before. Where are you from? It sounds like some sort of Victorian euphemism…you don’t want people to know you do your own shopping, so you say you’re going out to get your “messages”. ---
**Author:** ![scoots](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b77776/32.png) [@scoots](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scoots)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2014, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shopping-carts-in-the-queens-english/688067/24 "2014-05-10T09:41:17Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > I am pretty sure other British people would not be baffled if I referred to one of them as a “cart” either, even if it is not the word they would be most likely to use themselves. They would probably do a double take and wonder where your horse is before eventually realising you were talking about a trolley but would be too polite to say anything 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2014, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shopping-carts-in-the-queens-english/688067/25 "2014-05-10T10:16:42Z")
> [@md2000](#): > > I have a photo of a “trolley park” sign in Australia - it’s the “cart return”, the spot in the parking lot where you put your shopping cart after loading the groceries into the boot. “Trolley park” had [another, very different, meaning](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trolley_park) in late-19th-century America. > [@](#): > > _In Britain, a “trolley park” is a holding area for supermarket trolleys (called shopping carts in the U.S.)._ > > In the United States, trolley parks, which started in the 19th century, were picnic and recreation areas along or at the ends of streetcar lines in most of the larger cities. These were precursors to amusement parks. These trolley parks were created by the streetcar companies to give people a reason to use their services on weekends. These parks originally consisted of picnic groves and pavilions, and often held events such as dances, concerts and fireworks. Many eventually added features such as swimming pools, carousels, Ferris wheels, roller coasters, sports fields, boats rides, restaurants and other resort facilities to become amusement parks. Various sources report the existence of between 1,500 and 2,000 amusement parks in the United States by 1919. ---
**Author:** ![RobDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f07891/32.png) [@RobDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobDog)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2014, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shopping-carts-in-the-queens-english/688067/26 "2014-05-10T10:43:27Z")
Another vote for trolley. Slang bonus: Being “off your trolley” or simply “trollied” is UK slang for being drunk (or insane). > [@Kiyoshi](#): > > Really?! I’ve never heard this before. Where are you from? > > It sounds like some sort of Victorian euphemism…you don’t want people to know you do your own shopping, so you say you’re going out to get your “messages”. I’m going to guess Scotland; that’s the only place I’ve ever heard it in the wild. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2014, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shopping-carts-in-the-queens-english/688067/27 "2014-05-10T10:51:48Z")
> [@RobDog](#): > > Slang bonus: Being “off your trolley” or simply “trollied” is UK slang for being drunk (or insane). Yeah, but pretty much anything can be used as slang for being drunk. ---
**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2014, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shopping-carts-in-the-queens-english/688067/28 "2014-05-10T11:00:29Z")
> [@Kiyoshi](#): > > Really?! I’ve never heard this before. Where are you from? > > It sounds like some sort of Victorian euphemism…you don’t want people to know you do your own shopping, so you say you’re going out to get your “messages”. I don’t hear it much anymore but when I was a girl I was always being sent to the shop for Mum’s messages. It was a common expression in Aus in the '50s and '60s but it’s not something which is said much anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2014, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shopping-carts-in-the-queens-english/688067/29 "2014-05-10T12:10:54Z")
> [@Kiyoshi](#): > > Really?! I’ve never heard this before. Where are you from? > > It sounds like some sort of Victorian euphemism…you don’t want people to know you do your own shopping, so you say you’re going out to get your “messages”. It’s a common saying in Scotland. I wonder what the derivation is, as thinking about it for the first time ever, it does seem a bit odd. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2014, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shopping-carts-in-the-queens-english/688067/30 "2014-05-10T12:16:32Z")
> [@RobDog](#): > > Another vote for trolley. > > Slang bonus: Being “off your trolley” or simply “trollied” is UK slang for being drunk (or insane). > > I’m going to guess Scotland; that’s the only place I’ve ever heard it in the wild. Isn’t it off your trolley meaning insane and trollied meaning drunk? That’s how I’ve always used them. Messages is new to me. Nice to learn something new. ---
**Author:** ![RobDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f07891/32.png) [@RobDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobDog)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2014, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shopping-carts-in-the-queens-english/688067/31 "2014-05-10T12:23:41Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > Isn’t it off your trolley meaning insane and trollied meaning drunk? That’s how I’ve always used them… Yes, that’s exactly what I intended to say but I phrased it incredibly poorly. Thank you :o ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2014, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shopping-carts-in-the-queens-english/688067/32 "2014-05-10T12:39:50Z")
> [@Kiyoshi](#): > > Really?! I’ve never heard this before. Where are you from? > > It sounds like some sort of Victorian euphemism…you don’t want people to know you do your own shopping, so you say you’re going out to get your “messages”. > [@scoots](#): > > They would probably do a double take and wonder where your horse is before eventually realising you were talking about a trolley but would be too polite to say anything 🙂 So if you said “Excuse me, I have to see a man about a horse…” would they be even more confused? (Or is that a very local thing where I am?) ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2014, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shopping-carts-in-the-queens-english/688067/33 "2014-05-10T12:44:51Z")
> [@md2000](#): > > So if you said “Excuse me, I have to see a man about a horse…” would they be even more confused? > > (Or is that a very local thing where I am?) Or “Excuse me, I have to see a man about a dog…” ---
**Author:** ![spotthegerbil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@spotthegerbil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spotthegerbil)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2014, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shopping-carts-in-the-queens-english/688067/34 "2014-05-10T17:00:22Z")
> [@Kiyoshi](#): > > Really?! I’ve never heard this before. Where are you from? > > It sounds like some sort of Victorian euphemism…you don’t want people to know you do your own shopping, so you say you’re going out to get your “messages”. From Fife in Scotland. Not sure how widespread a term it is, but I’ve certainly heard it throughout Scotland. A message line is a shopping list. Message bag is the bag you would carry your messages in, and it would be your own hard wearing bag that would get reused. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2014, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shopping-carts-in-the-queens-english/688067/35 "2014-05-10T17:23:29Z")
> [@spotthegerbil](#): > > From Fife in Scotland. Not sure how widespread a term it is, but I’ve certainly heard it throughout Scotland. A message line is a shopping list. Message bag is the bag you would carry your messages in, and it would be your own hard wearing bag that would get reused. Logical, yet totally inexplicable. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Ms\_Boods](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5e9695/32.png) [@Ms\_Boods](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms_Boods)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2014, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shopping-carts-in-the-queens-english/688067/36 "2014-05-10T18:20:01Z")
> [@Fridgemagnet](#): > > It’s always been trolley, though due to transatlantic cross-pollination I’m sure it’ll become cart eventually. Cart as a noun is generally a 2-wheeled contraption pulled by a horse. The day you start calling it a ‘shopping buggy’ is the day when victory is mine. ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2014, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shopping-carts-in-the-queens-english/688067/37 "2014-05-11T23:59:55Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > It’s a common saying in Scotland. It’s also standard in Hiberno-English. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2014, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shopping-carts-in-the-queens-english/688067/38 "2014-05-12T03:32:23Z")
As I recall, the modern-day shopping cart was invented in Oklahoma in the 1930s, so Americans get to name it. I remember this bit of trivia because the heirs of the inventor all live or lived in Hawaii and were undergoing a bitter estate battle at the time I lived there, so big it was constantly in the local news. ---
**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, 2014, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shopping-carts-in-the-queens-english/688067/39 "2014-05-12T03:43:38Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > I have a trunk under the stairs. It’s too big to fit in the car boot. Well, back in the early days of cars, you could have taken that trunk out and [attached it to the back of the car for storage](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/95/Moynat-1924.jpg/588px-Moynat-1924.jpg). Which is where the word “trunk” as applied to a car comes from. ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2014, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shopping-carts-in-the-queens-english/688067/40 "2014-05-12T05:03:06Z")
> [@Ms\_Boods](#): > > The day you start calling it a ‘shopping buggy’ is the day when victory is mine. In the Southern US “buggy” is the term used by most people. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shopping-carts-in-the-queens-english/688067.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shopping-carts-in-the-queens-english/688067.md?page=3)