Re: Question: Different English names for "picnic cloth"

> Eugene Oh <un.doing@...> wrote:
>
> I was writing when I realised the cumbersome turn of phrase that is
> the > English "piece of cloth",....
To me "piece of cloth" implies that the purpose of the fabric is not
stated or evident.  "I need something to clean the windshield."  "Will
this piece of cloth do?"  The piece of cloth has no previously defined
use, e.g., towel, washcloth, handkerchief, babushka.

> Is there a difference between Anglophone countries as to how this
> unwieldy phrase is rendered, more specifically perhaps "picnic cloth"?
We were too poor to have a cloth dedicated to picnics.  We used a
bedspread, blanket, sheet, tablecloth, whatever was available.  And
that's what we would placed on the ground.  "Spread the bedspread here."

Charlie