Different Meanings for Words

[camlan]

Time for another "what do you call this" quiz!

Through North America, I've found that the burgers from Maccas and Burger King etc are referred to by the staff as "sandwiches". In Aussie (and from what I've found, everyone not working there, they are burgers), so...

To me:
Maccas/Burger King/Hungry Jacks etc serve burgers (some sort of bread roll with a hot filling)
Sandwiches are two (or sometimes three) slices of bread with some sort of filling, either hot or cold
Rolls are similar to burgers (ie a roll, not bread), except their fillings are usually cold - eg cold BBQ chicken or ham etc as apposed to a hot chicken fillet or a meat patty.

So, how do you define a burger, a sandwich and a roll?

I'm from New England.

A burger is a bun with a hamburger in it. But it's the patty in the middle that's the key element in determining what to call it. I've also seen veggie burgers, tuna burgers, salmon burgers, etc.

A sandwich is two pieces of bread with meat/cheese/veg between them, hot or cold.

Then things start to get complicated. We don't use "roll" the way you do. What you describe as a "roll" I'd call a "sandwich on a bun" or "sandwich on a roll" or even just a "sandwich." And if you put the filling into a pita, I'd still call that a sandwich on general principle.

The use of "sandwich" for burgers is, in my experience, pretty much limited to restaurants.

Then we have wraps--sandwich filling put on a piece of flat bread and rolled up.

[Slartibartfast]

Technically, anything between two bread products is a "sandwich" (at least around here).  So burgers are sandwiches, as are paninis, gyros, etc.  However, you'll hardly ever hear anything called a sandwich unless it's on sliced bread.  Occasionally you can get something you'd normally eat on a sandwich but on a different type of bread (such as a roll or a bagel) and then it's usually called a "such-and-such sandwich on a [roll/bagel/croissant/whatever]".

[Adelaide]

As an American, I would just like to point out that my British professor was mortified when I referred to someone as "the woman who always wears the fanny pack". Much clarification ensued.

[gramma dishes]

As an American, I would just like to point out that my British professor was mortified when I referred to someone as "the woman who always wears the fanny pack". Much clarification ensued.

Oh yeah.

I got caught in that one too.  I wrote a response to a photograph on a photography site and used the word fanny and within seconds I got an email shot back at me chastising me for saying something so incredibly rude, crude and offensive.  I was "what?".   Apparently it means something quite different there than it does here!   

[Adelaide]

As an American, I would just like to point out that my British professor was mortified when I referred to someone as "the woman who always wears the fanny pack". Much clarification ensued.

Oh yeah.

I got caught in that one too.  I wrote a response to a photograph on a photography site and used the word fanny and within seconds I got an email shot back at me chastising me for saying something so incredibly rude, crude and offensive.  I was "what?".   Apparently it means something quite different there than it does here!   

Heck yes it does. My professor had a field day explaining what the word meant where he was from. And he said "To be perfectly clear, Americans don't call it a fanny pack because it sits near a woman's-" and I was like "NO. I think I hear my mother calling me." and I walked out of his office. Of course, I had a class with him immediately after and neither of us could look at each other the entire time because we would turn red and start laughing.

[Elfmama]

And in most of the US, fanny is a euphemism!  It refers to the buttocks.

[oz diva]

Likewise, I think it's been mentioned here before, but in Australia we don't root for a team, as rooting is a synonym for 'scrabble'.

[violinp]

Likewise, I think it's been mentioned here before, but in Australia we don't root for a team, as rooting is a synonym for 'scrabble'.

Which is why this pick up line only works in Australia: whited out for the faint-hearted
Ever tripped over a tree stump? No? How about a root?   

...I am such a 12 year old. 

[JonGirl]

  

[oz diva]

There was a fruit shop near me in Glasgow called Roots and Fruits, you wouldn't get that name in Australia.

[bigozzy]

There was a fruit shop near me in Glasgow called Roots and Fruits, you wouldn't get that name in Australia.

Rooted also meant broken or really tired as well when I were a lad in Oz.

[oz diva]

Yes, it still has that meaning too, not so common now.

As in I'm completely rooted

[Judah]

Time for another "what do you call this" quiz!

Through North America, I've found that the burgers from Maccas and Burger King etc are referred to by the staff as "sandwiches". In Aussie (and from what I've found, everyone not working there, they are burgers), so...

To me:
Maccas/Burger King/Hungry Jacks etc serve burgers (some sort of bread roll with a hot filling)
Sandwiches are two (or sometimes three) slices of bread with some sort of filling, either hot or cold
Rolls are similar to burgers (ie a roll, not bread), except their fillings are usually cold - eg cold BBQ chicken or ham etc as apposed to a hot chicken fillet or a meat patty.

So, how do you define a burger, a sandwich and a roll?

A roll is a roundish, single serving of bread that I might have with dinner.

A sandwich is comprised of two pieces of bread with some sort of filling between them.

A burger is a subset of sandwich.  It usually has a beef patty, onion, tomato, lettuce, and pickle slices as the filling, but the beef patty may be replaced with something else.

[WhiteTigerCub]

Time for another "what do you call this" quiz!

Through North America, I've found that the burgers from Maccas and Burger King etc are referred to by the staff as "sandwiches". In Aussie (and from what I've found, everyone not working there, they are burgers), so...

To me:
Maccas/Burger King/Hungry Jacks etc serve burgers (some sort of bread roll with a hot filling)
Sandwiches are two (or sometimes three) slices of bread with some sort of filling, either hot or cold
Rolls are similar to burgers (ie a roll, not bread), except their fillings are usually cold - eg cold BBQ chicken or ham etc as apposed to a hot chicken fillet or a meat patty.

So, how do you define a burger, a sandwich and a roll?

A roll is a roundish, single serving of bread that I might have with dinner.

A sandwich is comprised of two pieces of bread with some sort of filling between them.

A burger is a subset of sandwich.  It usually has a beef patty, onion, tomato, lettuce, and pickle slices as the filling, but the beef patty may be replaced with something else.

And to make it even more confusing....

A 'patty' melt is normally a ground beef patty with melted cheese and fried onions on sandwich bread.

A 'tuna melt' is a grilled tuna sandwich with cheese   

[camlan]

Time for another "what do you call this" quiz!

Through North America, I've found that the burgers from Maccas and Burger King etc are referred to by the staff as "sandwiches". In Aussie (and from what I've found, everyone not working there, they are burgers), so...

To me:
Maccas/Burger King/Hungry Jacks etc serve burgers (some sort of bread roll with a hot filling)
Sandwiches are two (or sometimes three) slices of bread with some sort of filling, either hot or cold
Rolls are similar to burgers (ie a roll, not bread), except their fillings are usually cold - eg cold BBQ chicken or ham etc as apposed to a hot chicken fillet or a meat patty.

So, how do you define a burger, a sandwich and a roll?

A roll is a roundish, single serving of bread that I might have with dinner.

A sandwich is comprised of two pieces of bread with some sort of filling between them.

A burger is a subset of sandwich.  It usually has a beef patty, onion, tomato, lettuce, and pickle slices as the filling, but the beef patty may be replaced with something else.

And to make it even more confusing....

A 'patty' melt is normally a ground beef patty with melted cheese and fried onions on sandwich bread.

A 'tuna melt' is a grilled tuna sandwich with cheese   

That depends on where you are in the US. Around here (New England), the tuna melts I get in restaurants are open-faced tuna sandwiches with melted cheese on top, served warm. It is only by reading EHell that I have learned that in other parts of the US, the tuna melt has two pieces of bread.