# What was/is your family's terminology for going out to buy groceries? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 11, 2019, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-is-your-familys-terminology-for-going-out-to-buy-groceries/830941 "2019-03-11T12:16:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [March 11, 2019, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-is-your-familys-terminology-for-going-out-to-buy-groceries/830941/21 "2019-03-11T15:59:48Z")
“Going into town”. If Mr.Wrekker is going in he says “Get your list ready” It makes me so happy when he says that, you can’t know. ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Gay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3ab097/32.png) [@Enola\_Gay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Gay)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2019, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-is-your-familys-terminology-for-going-out-to-buy-groceries/830941/22 "2019-03-11T16:05:17Z")
My midwestern friend always says she’s “going Krogering”. ---
**Author:** ![Hermitian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hermitian/32/470_2.png) [@Hermitian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermitian)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2019, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-is-your-familys-terminology-for-going-out-to-buy-groceries/830941/23 "2019-03-11T16:29:39Z")
“Going to the market” makes me think you are going to some open air market where you buy your meat off a hook from a stall. “Going to the store” is too generic. What kind of store? We normally just say “going to get groceries” or “going to the grocery store.” When I return sometimes I shout “The fearless and skilled hunter has acquired much food! We will not starve this winter!” The kids just ignore it now. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2019, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-is-your-familys-terminology-for-going-out-to-buy-groceries/830941/24 "2019-03-11T17:16:16Z")
> [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](#): > > I’m single so if I say “I’m going grocery shopping”, they will come and take me away… > … You’ll have to explain this one. I’m single and I say, “I’m going grocery shopping.” Unless you mean saying it out loud when there’s no one there calls your sanity into question. In my case, I might be saying it to my dog or one of my three cats, and those words are music to their ears. > [@Enola\_Gay](#): > > Huh I’ve always said ‘I’m going to the market’ but looks like I may be in the minority I guess you are, but I’ve definitely heard it in movies. I’ve been watching an old movie, _Bunny Lake Is Missing_, and Carol Lynley says early on, “I’ve got to do my marketing.” And later the police detective Laurence Olivier refers to _marketing_, too. So, you’re in good company. > [@RealityChuck](#): > > My mother used “going to the store,” which could be confusing, since we ran a store… That’s funny. 🙂 > [@Enola\_Gay](#): > > My midwestern friend always says she’s “going Krogering”. My good friend and I used to say, “Let’s go get malled” (rhymes with “bald”). ---
**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:** [March 11, 2019, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-is-your-familys-terminology-for-going-out-to-buy-groceries/830941/25 "2019-03-11T17:25:36Z")
My Daddy used to say “I’m going to see a man about a horse”, which could mean any number of destinations. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2019, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-is-your-familys-terminology-for-going-out-to-buy-groceries/830941/26 "2019-03-11T17:55:35Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > My Daddy used to say “I’m going to see a man about a horse”, which could mean any number of destinations. Round here, that means, “I’m gonna go take a piss”. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2019, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-is-your-familys-terminology-for-going-out-to-buy-groceries/830941/27 "2019-03-11T18:15:45Z")
“Going to the store” is the default around (SE Louisiana). Using that idiom, it’s implicit that the nearest, handiest, most-visited grocery store is the destination. To mean “going to a grocery store further afield”, it’s normally required that the store name to be mentioned explicitly. Every now in then, in media aimed at tourists, you’ll see references to “making groceries” as what people in New Orleans say when they mean “go and buy groceries”. Presumably that’s a rough translation of the French “faire le marché.” Maybe “making groceries” was something some people said locally 100 years ago, but no one uses that expression conversationally anymore except in jest or whimsy. ---
**Author:** ![BrickBat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@BrickBat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrickBat)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2019, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-is-your-familys-terminology-for-going-out-to-buy-groceries/830941/28 "2019-03-11T18:26:05Z")
Another one for “Going to the store”. Northeastern US 1970s-1980s. Like the OP, I never heard anyone IRL say “marketing”, “to the market”, or even “supermarket”, except in movies or on TV. Come to think of it, and maybe oddly, I don’t really recall hearing someone actually saying “grocery” or “grocery shopping”. We were familiar with the term alright, but nobody used it in my environs. Kinda’ like Christmastime where you see “Season’s Greetings” on displays or printed matter. Nobody actually uttered those words. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2019, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-is-your-familys-terminology-for-going-out-to-buy-groceries/830941/29 "2019-03-11T18:27:06Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > …Every now in then, in media aimed at tourists, you’ll see references to “making groceries” as what people in New Orleans say when they mean “go and buy groceries”. Presumably that’s a rough translation of the French “faire le marché.” Maybe “making groceries” was something some people said locally 100 years ago, but no one uses that expression conversationally anymore except in jest or whimsy. To me, a rough translation of “faire le marché” would be “doing the market.” As described here: > [@](#): > > [Faire la fête](https://www.fluentu.com/blog/french/french-expressions-with-faire/) > > If you’re going out with friends in France or are invited to a French party, it’s likely that you’ll hear the expression \*on va faire la fête \*(we’re going to party). _Faire la fête_ literally means “to do the party”, although it’s used in a much more colloquial way in French speaking countries. > … It’s funny how media aimed at tourists often say something is routinely done locally when no locals ever do it o say it. Maybe it’s so when the tourists use that expression (or whatever) they’ll be outing themselves as tourists. ---
**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:** [March 11, 2019, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-is-your-familys-terminology-for-going-out-to-buy-groceries/830941/30 "2019-03-11T18:37:28Z")
In Scotland, and I believe also in North-East England, you’d “go and get the messages” or say “I’m away for my messages” or similar. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2019, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-is-your-familys-terminology-for-going-out-to-buy-groceries/830941/31 "2019-03-11T19:15:13Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > In Scotland, and I believe also in North-East England, you’d “go and get the messages” or say “I’m away for my messages” or similar. Messages? That \*does \*sound odd. ---
**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:** [March 11, 2019, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-is-your-familys-terminology-for-going-out-to-buy-groceries/830941/32 "2019-03-11T19:21:45Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Messages? That \*does \*sound odd. Dutch has something similar - entirely unrelated to the Scots - with boodschappen > **[boodschappen - English translation – Linguee](https://www.linguee.com/dutch-english/translation/boodschappen.html)** > > Many translated example sentences containing "boodschappen" – English-Dutch dictionary and search engine for English translations. No-one seems to have any firm idea where the Scots usage comes from. It’s not as common as it was, but universally understood. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2019, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-is-your-familys-terminology-for-going-out-to-buy-groceries/830941/33 "2019-03-11T19:24:47Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > Dutch has something similar - entirely unrelated to the Scots - with boodschappen > > [boodschappen - English translation – Linguee](https://www.linguee.com/dutch-english/translation/boodschappen.html) > > No-one seems to have any firm idea where the Scots usage comes from. It’s not as common as it was, but universally understood. Maybe it dates from a time when the general store and post office were under the same roof? ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2019, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-is-your-familys-terminology-for-going-out-to-buy-groceries/830941/34 "2019-03-11T19:30:08Z")
“The store” always meant the local supermarket. Trips to, say, the drugstore or the hardware store were called “the drugstore” and “the hardware store,” respectively. The only “local” store I can think of that was referred to by its name was the ice cream store; trips to a supermarket other than the local one were also referred to by the store’s name. ---
**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:** [March 11, 2019, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-is-your-familys-terminology-for-going-out-to-buy-groceries/830941/35 "2019-03-11T19:33:05Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Maybe it dates from a time when the general store and post office were under the same roof? That wouldn’t really fit with the way shops developed here, I don’t think. ---
**Author:** ![BrickBat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@BrickBat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrickBat)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2019, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-is-your-familys-terminology-for-going-out-to-buy-groceries/830941/36 "2019-03-11T19:33:08Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > To me, a rough translation of “faire le marché” would be “doing the market.” As described here: > > It’s funny how media aimed at tourists often say something is routinely done locally when no locals ever do it o say it. Maybe it’s so when the tourists use that expression (or whatever) they’ll be outing themselves as tourists. I still laugh when I think about and remember this incident: Years ago this place I worked at had this technician from Germany around to advise us as to a piece of equipment we bought. He spoke english well enough I guess, albeit with a heavy German accent. Curious fellow, “square” and literal, but with a jovial and dare I say, even goofy side. A few of us at work were talking casually with him once about stuff, and I remember he was no doubt trying to say “been there - done that” but he mangled it into something like “Yes, I have been there, and as well, I have done that”. He “knew” the joke, but could only express it in what one might call “school english”. Still cracks me up. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2019, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-is-your-familys-terminology-for-going-out-to-buy-groceries/830941/37 "2019-03-11T19:41:14Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > My Daddy used to say “I’m going to see a man about a horse”, which could mean any number of destinations. I have always heard this as a euphemism for taking a piss. It turns out that the animal involved can be either a horse or a dog, and that it is also commonly used to indicate that you are going somewhere for a drink (the alcoholic kind). Whatever the usage, it is usually used to conceal your true intentions. > **[See a man about a dog](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/See_a_man_about_a_dog)** > > To see a man about a dog, horse or duck is an idiom, especially British English, of apology for one's imminent departure or absence, generally to euphemistically conceal one's true purpose, such as going to use the toilet or going to buy an alcoholic drink. The original non-facetious meaning was probably to place or settle a bet on a race, perhaps accompanied by a wink. In the UK the phrase is generally used nowadays as a polite way of saying, "I am going out \[or "have been out"\], but don't ask w... Makes me wonder if your daddy was stopping by the local bar when he went out on these occasions. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2019, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-is-your-familys-terminology-for-going-out-to-buy-groceries/830941/38 "2019-03-11T19:48:33Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > That wouldn’t really fit with the way shops developed here, I don’t think. “Messages” really confused the hell out of me when I first heard it too. The [Scots Dictionary](http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/message) entry has examples dating back as far as the 1700s, and seems to have some overlap with the idea of a ‘message boy’ - someone who could bring you both information AND ‘stuff’. So then I guess if a ‘message boy’ doesn’t come with the information-and-or-stuff you require, you have to be your own message boy - ‘do the messages’ ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2019, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-is-your-familys-terminology-for-going-out-to-buy-groceries/830941/39 "2019-03-11T20:29:52Z")
My parents would generally say they’re ‘going shopping’ or ‘doing a food shop’ to mean the supermarket, with ‘going into town’ being for clothes and the like. When I have occasion to tell anyone, I’ll always include the name of the shop. Being the only person in a houseshare with a car for some years, mentioning it was tantamount to an offer of a lift, so the specific destination was relevant. I might say it in the form ‘I’m Aldi-ing later’ or ‘I’m off down Tescos, want anything?’ ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2019, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-is-your-familys-terminology-for-going-out-to-buy-groceries/830941/40 "2019-03-11T22:24:39Z")
“Going to the store.” Or possibly “Going to [name of store].” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-is-your-familys-terminology-for-going-out-to-buy-groceries/830941.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-is-your-familys-terminology-for-going-out-to-buy-groceries/830941.md?page=3)