Re: OT: baloney and cheese

Joe Fatula wrote:

>>(On a cheese-related note, in Australia, Coon is a company that makes
>>cheese. The vast majority of Australians, I would say, do not know what
>>Coon means elsewhere. Apparently quite some time ago, Coon had an ad
>>trying to convince people to say 'coon' instead of 'cheese' when people
>>took your photo. So some Australians, having found their way into
>>America, actually did this. Great embarrassment and/or confusion all
>> round.)
 >
> Saying "coon" strikes me as funny, not embarrassing.  I mean, how serious
> can you be if you're expected to name a dairy product, and name an animal
> instead?  Or does "coon" actually mean a type of cheese in Australia, not
> just the brand name?
No, Coon refers to the brand. But it seems there's a third meaning of
coon which I didn't know of. I was thinking of coon=offensive term
relating to black people. Any annecdote regarding Coon cheese
misunderstandings uses that definition of coon. (Raccoons don't exist in
Australia, so they aren't called coons. Indeed, I don't think I've ever
needed to mention racoons at all.)

Tristan.

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