tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post6343218979551459755..comments2024-03-28T16:11:36.465+00:00Comments on Separated by a Common Language: a (head of) lettucelynneguisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10171345732985610861noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-55277770684597823162023-05-05T15:52:45.487+01:002023-05-05T15:52:45.487+01:00Maybe we don't say a broccoli because it is - ...Maybe we don't say a broccoli because it is - in the original Italian - plural. It should be one broccolo, two broccoli. Compare macaroni, spaghetti etc. And I once heard someone (at Glydebourne opera no less) asking for two capuccini.Peterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04161283671334301945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-40009521197821864702022-12-10T18:17:41.168+00:002022-12-10T18:17:41.168+00:00I (native Dutch speaker) would have absolutely no ...I (native Dutch speaker) would have absolutely no trouble with mentioning "a lettuce". [E.g.: Get me a lettuce, please.] Which is strange, because the Dutch equivalent is "een krop sla" which corresponds quite neatly with "a head of lettuce".<br />"Een sla" is impossible, unless you mean "a salad" and even then you should use the diminutive if you want to be understood: "een slaatje".Petra1945https://www.blogger.com/profile/06559677258676647710noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-88671674418588672022-11-16T17:34:55.247+00:002022-11-16T17:34:55.247+00:00"Cabbage" can also mean "snippets o..."Cabbage" can also mean "snippets of cloth appropriated by a tailor from a customer's material" (definition from Collins)/.<br />Kate Buntinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17223976536411967222noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-12437489293377759222022-11-14T15:45:36.610+00:002022-11-14T15:45:36.610+00:00Not totally off topic, but in BrE both “lettuce” a...Not totally off topic, but in BrE both “lettuce” and “cabbage” are used as slang words for something else - I’ve heard “lettuce” (also “lettuce leaf”) used as slang for a woman’s private parts, eg. “He walked into the bathroom while I was wiping my lettuce - how embarrassing!” Also, “cabbage” can be used to describe someone in a vegetative state or a coma (this may be dated now and/or considered offensive), eg. “After he had a stroke, Joe was just a cabbage. Poor man.”CaptainSiCohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18025513284180590274noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-43284248120641332512022-11-14T13:38:16.524+00:002022-11-14T13:38:16.524+00:00This comment has been removed by the author.CaptainSiCohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18025513284180590274noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-88341710194055002462022-11-14T02:38:12.566+00:002022-11-14T02:38:12.566+00:00" The time has come,' the Walrus said,
..." The time has come,' the Walrus said,<br /> To talk of many things:<br />Of shoes — and ships — and sealing-wax —<br /> Of cabbages — and kings —<br />And why the sea is boiling hot —<br /> And whether pigs have wings.' - Lewis CarollAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-46993663519274463492022-11-12T16:00:45.304+00:002022-11-12T16:00:45.304+00:00My guess is "a broccoli" sounds wrong be...My guess is "a broccoli" sounds wrong because we don't usually encounter a whole head of broccoli, but pieces cut off a head of broccoli. When talking about a piece of broccoli, it's something we've cut off a larger unit. A head of lettuce is the base unit of lettuce, so if something's going to be "a lettuce", it's going to be a head of lettuce. But the base unit of broccoli, for most of us, in how we think of it, is going to be a smaller, cut piece, which doesn't have an individual existence until we cut it.<br /><br />Although, "a carrot" works for me for a slice of carrot. And a cut part of a green bean can be "a green bean". So not an absolute.Terry K.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-2444105568083655732022-10-31T21:20:19.463+00:002022-10-31T21:20:19.463+00:00I, a Brit, would never say or interpret (before no...I, a Brit, would never say or interpret (before now) "two lettuces" to mean two types of lettuce. Two lettuces would be two heads of lettuce. They might be of different kinds.Mairhttp://mair.allen-williams.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-86360629577003593292022-10-30T22:32:17.083+00:002022-10-30T22:32:17.083+00:00
some others that sound wrong:
a celeriac
a celery...<br />some others that sound wrong:<br />a celeriac<br />a celery<br />a chard<br />a chicory<br />a fennel<br />a garlic<br />a ginger<br />a kale<br />a spinachGrhmnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-68304487658068517502022-10-30T09:16:18.896+00:002022-10-30T09:16:18.896+00:00Thankyou. This is odd, and I've never noticed ...Thankyou. This is odd, and I've never noticed it before. I'm a BrEnglish speaker. I can talk happily about a lettuce, a cabbage, a carrot, a bean, an orange, an apple, a banana, a cherry (as in 'a cherry on top'), etc. etc. etc.. That seems to go for any fruit or vegetable, large or even small that can have an individual existence, irrespective of whether one normally eats them one at a time or, like, say, peas several. And one can put a number in front of them, as in three lettuces or three strawberries. So why, to me, do 'a broccoli' and 'three broccoli' sound wrong? I'm having difficulty thinking of any others that sound wrong, and even more difficulty thinking up an explanation. Drunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-81054780146512020212022-10-23T18:24:22.569+01:002022-10-23T18:24:22.569+01:00So interesting. I think I've said "a head...So interesting. I think I've said "a head of lettuce" but I'm pretty sure I've never said, "a head of cabbage". Hm. LyzzyBeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16398604923871095647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-6652144432705651082022-10-20T14:54:40.263+01:002022-10-20T14:54:40.263+01:00The lettuce won! The lettuce won! Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06535608384944419841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-54919824699208588402022-10-17T22:40:07.719+01:002022-10-17T22:40:07.719+01:00Whoops! I hit publish too quickly. The second appe...Whoops! I hit publish too quickly. The second appearance of garlic should read broccoliAndy Jnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-54019117447190042462022-10-17T22:35:42.260+01:002022-10-17T22:35:42.260+01:00Apart from a few herbs and spices (tumeric, garlic...Apart from a few herbs and spices (tumeric, garlic, dill, arrowroot, fennel etc) I (BrE) can only think of 6 vegetables which I would use partitively: asparagus, celeriac, chicory, cress, garlic and spinach.Andy Jnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-36850021635099851242022-10-17T18:17:44.461+01:002022-10-17T18:17:44.461+01:00A lettuce sandwich? Just lettuce?A lettuce sandwich? Just lettuce?Sigrid Boydnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-72040316380430711132022-10-17T01:02:03.342+01:002022-10-17T01:02:03.342+01:00For me (AmE, western New England, GenX) "lett...For me (AmE, western New England, GenX) "lettuce" isn't countable, but "cabbage" definitely is.<br /><br />This seems to be standard AmE - consider the running "my cabbages" joke in Avatar: The Last Airbender.<br /><br />(As I understand it, American children's cartoons work fairly hard to be standard AmE unless a character is supposed to have an accent - to the point where scripts are rewritten to avoid words with a Canadian Raise when they're using Canadian voice actors.) Jonathan Lennoxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11815647039522251569noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-12058763235466327602022-10-16T22:55:48.146+01:002022-10-16T22:55:48.146+01:00comment-catching commentcomment-catching commentlynneguisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10171345732985610861noreply@blogger.com