Things you were shockingly old when you learned

I'm sure when my wife and I first got together there must've been some hilarious misunderstandings around flapjacks, but I don't remember ever knowing they were pancakes in the US before

I was managing a team in China in about 2014: three Americans, two British, one Australian and four Chinese. Two of the Americans (both African-American, one from NY and one from Louisiana) used to spend their time reminiscing about old episodes of Keeping Up Appearances. The British and Australians had never even heard of the show, and were really very confused indeed by their imitations of Hyacinth Bucket.

this is apropos of nothing of course, just a very odd memory

God couldn't watch that cos hyacinth is such a racist. So maybe the added distance added irony or something.
Couldn't really watch pathos at the time though.
Wonder if there is something to the show beyond discomfort. I think a french friend of mine loved it at the time it was current too.

it was one of those sitcoms where every episode seems to have the same plot and jokes, but they actually had favourite episodes, wonder if it was some kind of elaborate joke.

Btw Americans have a specific food called pudding and do not use it in the generic sense for dessert foods.

is it blood sausage

is it suet cake

Wait, what are "oatmeal" and "flapjacks" in the UK? I would never say "flapjack" and don't think I personally know anyone who does but I do understand it to mean "pancake".

https://bakingwithgranny.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/flapjack.jpg

Look at them glisten, num num

I would never say "flapjack" and don't think I personally know anyone who does but I do understand it to mean "pancake".

Wait don't you have any friends who are characters in an O. Henry story?

American pudding

https://thepioneerwoman.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/how-to-make-chocolate-pudding-00a.jpg

Stay away from mee-hee

Hm, acc. to my dictionary, this also means that Americans don't say "porridge"? I think it seems m/l interchangeable with "oatmeal" to me. I'm more likely to say "oatmeal"; the missus (who grew up in the same city) is a little more likely to say "porridge" ime.

nope, ime americans do not use the term "porridge" unless they are talking about goldilocks & the bears

and even then they probably don't know they are referring to bowls of oatmeal

i thought porridge was the same as gruel until i visited the UK!

& tbh idk what gruel actually is

porridge is nice, for bears, gruel is bad, for poor children

I thought johnnycakes were pancakes but are actually cornmeal cakes.

Ha, "gruau" is what I call oatmeal/porridge when speaking French so I think I just figured "gruel" was an older word for the same thing. It's something more thin and meagre? 3xp lol

porridge is definitely not oatmeal, oatmeal is real, porridge is a nice bear dream

Pease porridge hot, pease porridge cold,
Pease porridge in the pot, nine days old;

US flapjack = scotch pancake aka dropscone in the UK
UK flapjack = a sweet oat cake, generally chewy rather than crunchy

What the Brits call 'porridge' I call 'oatmeal'.

In France, it's 'porridge' – 'gruau' is gruel (thinner and more watery).

gruel is like watery, savoury porridge, or somewhere between porridge and soup, there is a medieval restaurant in the czech republic where I once had some and it was actually very nice. I guess the congee I have about once a week is technically a gruel too.

pease porridge is guacamole

I'd never heard the word 'flapjack' used before setting foot in the UK so I'm already wired to view it as the correct referent.

Oatmeal is what you use to make porridge, but is not actually porridge, isn't that it? Also, why is it Scott's Porage Oats and not Scott's Porridge Oats?

In France, it's 'porridge' – 'gruau' is gruel (thinner and more watery).

Huh, is it a Europe/Canada divide? The French-speaking care workers I've known say "gruau". I've only heard "porridge" in English and tbh wouldn't know how to pronounce that in French.

https://www.deliver-grocery.ca/869-large_default/quaker-instant-oatmeal-60-packets-221-kg.jpg

isn't that it?

For you.

flapjacks are lavvvly

Huh, is it a Europe/Canada divide?

Yes. 'Porridge' is not a typical breakfast meal in France. It's viewed as mildly exotic and typically English.

I feel like I've only ever seen 'flapjack' used in the US in the context of maybe like diner food or advertising? I don't know that I've ever heard an actual human refer to pancakes as flapjacks. And I grew up all over so I've experienced a pretty broad range of regional colloquialisms.

Incidentally, I did weirdly find that the English spoken in Montreal struck me as more American than just inside the Ontario border.xps

xpost Like it's something a '50s sitcom dad would say. 'Boy, I sure could go for some flapjacks right now!'

a flapjack is a man's pancake, a mancake, something you would be proud to stack

I've never heard the French word 'gruau' before

Sund4r, could that be kind of an urban/rural divide, or do you mean a larger city in Ontario?

xp i've only heard it spoken once, by my dog

For you.

And everybody else in the UK?

mh, no, I mean even compared to Ottawa (which is right inside the border) or Toronto but idk could be a weird impression. All I know is my wife talks about "porridge".

Incidentally, I did weirdly find that the English spoken in Montreal struck me as more American than just inside the Ontario border.xps

It's true. I think it's because we get more of our exposure to English from American media due to it being a minority language. There is such a thing as a Montreal accent in English, though – it just happens to be almost imperceptible (unless you're in Saint Léonard). And there's the marry/merry distinction.

And everybody else in the UK?

Yes, that's what I meant.

... sorry, Scotland.

Rolled oats are commonly used in England, oatmeal in Scotland and steel-cut oats in Ireland.[14]

Told you!

Wikipedia says rolled and steel-cut oats count as oatmeal.

Cat: 'Mieow?'
Me: Oh hello cat, how are you today?
Cat: 'Mieow.'
Me: That bad, huh? Have you had anything to eat today?
Cat: 'Gruel'
Me: Gruel? Where did you get the gruel from, cat?
Cat: 'Grey Owl'
Me: Grey owl gave you the gruel?

etc....

This oatmeal thing is complicated. Also, the French think of porridge as typically English when the English think of it as typically Scottish - or used to.

Chinese whispers. Or, as the French call it, le téléphone arabe.

Ha, that's "broken telephone" where I come from.