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Re: spade and shovel (was [romconlang] -able)

From:T. A. McLeay <conlang@...>
Date:Wednesday, April 16, 2008, 3:22
ROGER MILLS wrote:
> Endless trove of trivia, eh?? > > Tristan wrote: >> I'm told an electric kettle is in the US a jug (I think). > > Never heard that; it's just an electic kettle. > > A jug to me is >> most frequently a 1140 mL vessel of beer (that is, "jug" like "pot" >> (something around 350 mL) or "pint" (570 mL) has a standard size). > > Never heard it used in the US w.r.t. beer; nor is there much > standardization. I'm not sure how much beer one got in the standard glass of > draft beer at a bar-- likely 8 oz.; I do recall that in England a pint in a > pub was _a lot_ of beer by our standards......Glad to say that bars are > getting a little more generous in their portions these days.
A "glass" of beer is 200 mL. Glasses are pretty rare --- a pot is the most common -- on checking, actually 285 mL, or half an imperial pint.
> Many products used to come in 1 lb.jars/cans, but they gradually got reduced > in size though the price remains the same. The standard can/package of > coffee (1 lb way back when) is now 11 oz.
That's inflation for you... On the other hand large jars of Vegemite are still 455 g. I would've thought they could get around to retooling everything to cope with 500 g jars in the 30-whatever years it's been since we metricated, but apparently not.
> In the old days a jug was made of ceramic, had a little handle and a short > narrow neck that took a cork. The came in various sizes, 2 qts up to a > gallon (4 qts) or even more. Some of the more interesting ones have neat > designs in the glaze; they're quite collectible and can cost $$$ depending > on age. > > Nowadays booze and cheap wine often come in "jugs" either plastic or glass, > with/without a handle, usually 1.75 qts or 1.5 litres, usually with a > screw-top (booze, real cheap wine) or a cork (the better class of cheap > wine)...(And then there's wine in boxes...total plonk).
If cheap wine is not booze, then what is? I gather that screw-top lids and casks (as we call the bag the wine in a box is in) are both better at keeping wine good than corks; I'm told that screw-top lids are much more common in Australia and better received here than in America, but cask wine is here as there the cheap stuff.
>> Although it could be any other similar (open top/lidless!) vessel >> regardless of size and content too, if needs be. > > I think that would be a _crock_ (old, ceramic, could be quite big-- I've > seen 5 gal. versions), also collectible and $$$. Some had a ceramic lid that > rarely survives; otherwise I think you closed them with a cloth. If glass, > just a _jar_ . I'd be surprised if "crock" is used anymore, except in the > expression "That (~so and so) is a crock of sh*t"
A jug is usually glass (at a pub) or plastic (at home). -- Tristan.