Brits, settle a thing for me.

[Liar]

The crisp sammich thread reminded me of something.

We all know you say crisps for chips and chips for fries. Fair enough. Well known.

But. I've recently heard some English peeps say both "chips" and "fries", as if they're the same but different, somehow. Is that a real thing or where they making stuff up?

 

[FataMorgana]

Chips and fries are the same here. Usually American style restaurants and fast food chains call them fries.

We still nip to the chippy, not the fryie!

 

[Liar]

I got the impression the distiction they made was chips = large cut, fries = thin cut.

Would make sense since thin ones is what you get at the Murican places like McD's, and large ones is what you get at the pub.

 

[NikiVien]

The crisp sammich thread reminded me of something.

We all know you say crisps for chips and chips for fries. Fair enough. Well known.

But. I've recently heard some English peeps say both "chips" and "fries", as if they're the same but different, somehow. Is that a real thing or where they making stuff up?

Chips are usually cut quite thick - they tend to be soft, not crisp. If you look for an image of British fish and chips, you'll see what I mean.

Fries tend to be thinner cut and crisp - like Macdonalds; you probably won't need to look for an image of these

 

[NikiVien]

I got the impression the distiction they made was chips = large cut, fries = thin cut.

Would make sense since thin ones is what you get at the Murican places like McD's, and large ones is what you get at the pub.

I went to all that trouble and you already knew the answer

 

[oggbashan]

They were always chips until MacDonalds. Then the Big M 'fries' cane into the vocabulary.

In a UK supermarket now you can buy a whole variety of 'chips' or Big M type 'fries '. The chips can be 'thick', 'crinkle-cut, 'oven'. deep-fried, microwaved. etc. The 'fries also come in a range of varieties. But proper chips from a fish and chip shop are thick, soft, and often greasy, but some will cook 'fries' if you want them.

But never confuse chips or fries with crisps.

 

[Liar]

I went to all that trouble and you already knew the answer

Was just a wild guess.

 

[NikiVien]

Was just a wild guess.

Well, imho you were spot on

 

[oggbashan]

An aside on crisps...

When Og was younger, the only crisps available were Smith's Crisps with a small blue bag to add salt to taste.

Then, a radical departure - ready-salted crisps, swiftly followed by salt and vinegar.

Now? Most supermarkets have a whole aisle devoted to all the varieties of crisps available.

 

[rockcasbah]

Chips are usually cut quite thick - they tend to be soft, not crisp. If you look for an image of British fish and chips, you'll see what I mean.

Fries tend to be thinner cut and crisp - like Macdonalds; you probably won't need to look for an image of these

So Chip Butty uses the wide, thick spuds?

 

[oggbashan]

So Chip Butty uses the wide, thick spuds?

Yes. Fries would be an abomination!

 

[FataMorgana]

They were always chips until MacDonalds. Then the Big M 'fries' cane into the vocabulary.

In a UK supermarket now you can buy a whole variety of 'chips' or Big M type 'fries '. The chips can be 'thick', 'crinkle-cut, 'oven'. deep-fried, microwaved. etc. The 'fries also come in a range of varieties. But proper chips from a fish and chip shop are thick, soft, and often greasy, but some will cook 'fries' if you want them.

But never confuse chips or fries with crisps.

Ffs two of us already answered, but thanks for mansplaining what chips are a third time.

 

[oggbashan]

Ffs two of us already answered, but thanks for mansplaining what chips are a third time.

Why not? Womansplaining can be just as tedious, and I do tedious. But there is information in my post that isn't in the others. So there!

 

[rockcasbah]

Ffs two of us already answered, but thanks for mansplaining what chips are a third time.

I couldn’t hear over all the nattering.

 

[dolf]

I got the impression the distiction they made was chips = large cut, fries = thin cut.

Would make sense since thin ones is what you get at the Murican places like McD's, and large ones is what you get at the pub.

10/10

When Og was younger, the only crisps available were Smith's Crisps with a small blue bag to add salt to taste.

Then, a radical departure - ready-salted crisps, swiftly followed by salt and vinegar.

Now? Most supermarkets have a whole aisle devoted to all the varieties of crisps available.

That was how it was in my house until the kids were small, and they weren't allowed to use the sachet. Tiny kidneys aren't equipped to deal with too much salt.

 

[butters]

I got the impression the distinction they made was chips = large cut, fries = thin cut.

Would make sense since thin ones is what you get at the Murican places like McD's, and large ones is what you get at the pub.

yup


and chips tend to have a combo of soft and crispy, depending on how fresh from the fryer they are or if they've steamed a bit on a wrapper. best combination of textures *nods* and perfect on their own or with fish/saveloy

on the other hand, i'd not want them with a macD's... only their skinny, crisp, salty fries will do.

 

[butters]

When Og was younger, the only crisps available were Smith's Crisps with a small blue bag to add salt to taste.

Then, a radical departure - ready-salted crisps, swiftly followed by salt and vinegar.

Now? Most supermarkets have a whole aisle devoted to all the varieties of crisps available.

i remember those! they even made a comeback revival thingy some time, maybe 20 years ago? they didn't last long, though. i still love potato puffs when i can get them, which is rare. burtons potato puffs were a thing of my childhood
https://th.bing.com/th/id/OIP.7l-Mi2M_yVyp5_Wye2a5AwHaFj?w=237&h=180&c=7&o=5&pid=1.7

 

[hobbit.]

Chips and fries are the same here. Usually American style restaurants and fast food chains call them fries.

We still nip to the chippy, not the fryie!

Chips and fries are not the fucking same!

Chips are chips.

Fries are fried things for middle class intellectual wanna be, aka cunts.

next time youre in mcdonalds and get asked by dumb impressionable spotty faced twat "d'ya want fries with that" simply reply "no you twat, i want chips"

 

[FataMorgana]

Chips and fries are not the fucking same!

Chips are chips.

Fries are fried things for middle class intellectual wanna be, aka cunts.

next time youre in mcdonalds and get asked by dumb impressionable spotty faced twat "d'ya want fries with that" simply reply "no you twat, i want chips"

True, but if a yank came over here he'd not call fries chips would he, cos their chips are crisps.

Backward fuckers.

 

[colddiesel]

Crisps are spuds sold at approx $40,000 per ton. Fries are a French abomination retailing at some 30,000 per ton and Chips are a delicacy one is privileged to pay for.

The perfect chip is large, slightly under cooked (al dente), soggy and can be bent into a U shape without breaking. They should be served with lots of malt vinegar, frightening quantities of salt and presented on, but only in the best establishments, page 3 of yesterdays 'Sun.'

Fish is optional but if included should be tasteless and thoroughly overcooked in as much batter as possible. The best shops require their clients to queue for sufficiently long to give the product time to chill thoroughly.

 

[oggbashan]

I live in a seaside town. Our fish and chips shops are good. The fish? Whatever is in season and caught locally today.

Unless one orders a processed pie or fish cake, the fish, and the chips are wonderful. Every time my London family comes we HAVE to have local Fish and Chips because the quality is far above any London outlet.

When we first moved here, our favorite was a fish shop that also did fish and chips. You choose the freshly caught fish from the wet slab. It was filleted and cooked while you waited, and it was worth waiting for.

The chips? Potatoes from a farm no more than five miles away.

 

[hobbit.]

True, but if a yank came over here he'd not call fries chips would he, cos their chips are crisps.

Backward fuckers.

uneducated heathens.

I live in a seaside town.

The chips? Potatoes from a farm no more than five miles away.

That beach still littered with the rotting corpses of illegal immigrants as they wash up?

Potatoes harvested by Eastern European illegals no doubt (the ones that didn't drown)

 

[Champakian]

You cannot afford the harvesting machines?

 

[lovetoread]

True, but if a yank came over here he'd not call fries chips would he, cos their chips are crisps.

Backward fuckers.

excuse me?

we do know what they are called over there and can order them with no issues

but when you fuckers come over here, yall cant name the foods correctly

 

[rockcasbah]

Kings English Grammar Buddy is all that's left of the Empire.