What do YOU call this stuff?

[Alienhand]

I call it:
2901114 - Tape, cellophane film, pressure sensitive adh, .5W
2901115 - Tape, cellophane film, pressure sensitive adh, .75W
2901116 - Tape, cellophane film, pressure sensitive adh, 1W
2901117 - Tape, cellophane film, pressure sensitive adh, 1.5W

Scotch tape

[Harmonious_Discord]

@emilyforce

I think Scotch sells cheaper yellowish (acetate) tape too; the non-yellow, invisible type sold in a green tartan package is their “Magic Tape”.

Yes they do. It’s not that dark of a yellow though.

[Ethilrist]

It’s a Unidirectional Bonding Strip.

[melodyharmonius]

Usually I say, “Hey can you hand me the stuff in that thingy over there? I gotta fix this so I can hand it to the dude for that guy.”

[gigi]

@emilyforce

“Elastoplast” is the brand name and “sticking plaster” the generic term for what Americans usually call a “Band-Aid” or “bandage”.

Ah, they did say Elastoplast! I thought it was a great name for it.

[Girl_From_Mars]

Sticky tape.

[WotNot]

@Dead_Cat

Sellotape, which I am aware is a brand name but for me has the same status as “Hoover” or “Xerox”. I would be quite prepared to believe that programmes on the BBC (such as Blue Peter) used “sticky-backed plastic” as an alternative, to avoid mentioning the brand name (the BBC has, or perhaps had, very strict rules on advertising), but for the fact that I thought “sticky-backed plastic” was that clear stuff with paper backing that has gridlines on it, and when you peel the paper backing off you can stick it to something - like a cheap laminate. Am I making sense?

Well, it’s not necessarily clear (it comes in all sorts of colours and patterns), but that is what it is, yes – self-adhesive vinyl.

To be precise, what they used on Blue Peter was Fablon brand, which these days is marketed as “The sticky back plastic”.

[Sonnenstrahl]

Scotch tape or just tape, though having a British mother, cellotape sounds fine as well. According to wikipedia, there’s a pejorative origin of the term Scotch tape - I figured that, but have never really thought about it before. Not pejorative in modern usage, I assume. Though I take it it might cause confusion to use the term in the UK?

I first read one of the Harry Potter books aloud to a kid I was babysitting, and there was a mention of Spellotape. I do know the word Cellotape and I have a low humour threshold so I found it hilarious. The kid just looked at me blankly. So clearly the term is unfamiliar here.

[ShibbOleth]

Tape or box tape.

[elfkin477]

Tape. The stuff in the picture doesn’t look like scotch tape to me, because it’s so big. I’ve never seen scotch tape that was a roll of more than a couple inches in diameter. It’s not postal tape either, because it’s too narrow. I guess it could be packing tape, not that I’ve heard people say that often.

[Labrador_Deceiver]

@elfkin477

Tape. The stuff in the picture doesn’t look like scotch tape to me, because it’s so big. I’ve never seen scotch tape that was a roll of more than a couple inches in diameter. It’s not postal tape either, because it’s too narrow. I guess it could be packing tape, not that I’ve heard people say that often.

Yeah, that doesn’t look like scotch tape to me. This is scotch tape.

[Springtime_for_Spacers]

@Dead_Cat

Sellotape, which I am aware is a brand name but for me has the same status as “Hoover” or “Xerox”. I would be quite prepared to believe that programmes on the BBC (such as Blue Peter) used “sticky-backed plastic” as an alternative, to avoid mentioning the brand name (the BBC has, or perhaps had, very strict rules on advertising), but for the fact that I thought “sticky-backed plastic” was that clear stuff with paper backing that has gridlines on it, and when you peel the paper backing off you can stick it to something - like a cheap laminate. Am I making sense?

OMG I’m not the only one then. I always thought it was that Fablon stuff too and my Mum said it was too expensive – which if it was just sellotape doesn’t make sense. So where does this idea that thye meant sellotape come from?

[panache45]

If it’s small and colorless (either clear or matte), Scotch tape. If it’s large and brown, packing tape.

[Mudshark]

Tape or packing tape.

Am I the only one who prefers the cheaper looking shiny “acetate” tape?

[guizot]

The OP makes me want to start a thread like this: “What side of the road do YOU drive on?” and then wait for the dozens of posts with their surprising answers.

[CairoCarol]

Used to call it “Scotch tape” but years of living abroad have converted me to “sellotape.”

[Mudshark]

Watching AbFab got me to start calling shopping carts trolleys.

[SanVito]

@Small_Clanger

*unless they were obliged to call it sticky back plastic.

Point of order for the Blue Peter watchers here, you’re getting confused. ‘Sticky back plastic’ was the large sheets of clear sticky stuff they’d use to cover things with. What we (UK) call Sellotape (brand name), Blue Peter would call ‘sticky tape’ (can’t mention brands on the BBC, oh no).

[jabiru]

Sticky tape.

[kambuckta]

Sticky tape.