Forum: Story Discussion and Feedback

IHOP is International House Of Pancakes. Its a chain restaurant (many locations.) I don't know what makes it "international" perhaps locations in Canada? Relatively low prices. Lots of differently flavored (pancake) syrups. Somewhat like McDonalds the quality is not high, but it is predictable.

not according to any of the dictionaries I use

And how many American English dictionaries do you use? I have never seen it hyphenated or as two words in reference to trucks.

Many spell check "dictionaries" are seriously under-inclusive out of the box. In fact, in my opinion, they don't qualify as dictionaries at all.

The American English spell check "dictionary" I have installed on my copy of Open Office recognizes pickup as does Fire Fox, which I am using to post this.

maybe it's another of those words that only appears in US dictionaries.

Could be. It's one word in my paperback dictionary published back in 1989. Definition six for pickup is the truck.

Interesting: I'm using Fire Fox vs 43 with its built-in dictionary and it keeps underlining pickup as a spelling error - maybe it's another of those words that only appears in US dictionaries.

As long as we're talking about spelling and such, I have a browser called Firefox (43.0.3) loaded. Don't know a browser called Fire Fox.

bb

There is a topic on Author's Hangout about gauge of a shotgun. It would take a pretty big one to fire a fox.

Oh, I think a punt gun may handle a small fox as it's load!

An AA gauge punt gun has a 4 inch bore. It could definitely handle a small fox, might even handle a large fox if you take the legs off first.

I have a browser called Firefox (43.0.3) loaded. Don't know a browser called Fire Fox.

:-P

I have a browser called Firefox (43.0.3) loaded. Don't know a browser called Fire Fox.

Could be like the country called Vietnam. Many stories here have it as Viet Nam.

Speaking of spelling errors, where are you all getting this Fire Fox you're using? The product from Mozilla I use, and that I have been using since Netscape died, is Firefox.

Speaking of spelling errors, where are you all getting this Fire Fox you're using?

Your only the 3rd person to point that out. :-P

As far as I know, "pickup" is a largely American term for "pickup" truck. Any other locations that use it probably import the same trucks and picked up the American usage. ...

I wouldn't expect any but U.S. dictionaries to include it.

The catch here is Canada. For the most part, Canadians use US slang, predominantly because of the amount of books, TV, film, and other pop-culture that makes it up here, but there is resistance to adopting US spelling and pronunciation.

While spelling is a bit of a mixed bag -- there are actual Canadian English dictionaries even though it isn't really thought of as a separate language -- a lot of slang words will use variant spellings from the US.

I would also use "pick-up truck", though some younger Canadians might not bother. The idea behind the spelling is that while "pickup" is being used as a single term, making "pick up" incorrect as it would imply an action, it would be grammatically incorrect to combine the two separate words into one word. Thus the hyphen is used as a concession to both theories: one term combining two words.

I suspect that many Brits would use the same spelling, for the same reasons. Brits would know the term "pickup truck" from films and TV, but would default to spelling it as "pick-up truck". In general, Britsh English still hyphentes many compound words which have become single words in American English: second-rate, part-time, take-off, well-known, low-level, etc.

This is changing, slowly, and even the Oxford dictionary has been listing an increasing number of words with the hyphen removed, but the Brtits have resisted the American tradition of hyphenless compounding.

Switch Blade

Pickup, as in pickup truck, is one word. As to dictionaries, it was like that in the first one I checked: dictionary.com

If you scroll down the page about half-way, there's an entry from the Online Etymology Dictionary:

n.

also pick-up, "that which is picked up," 1848; see pick up (v.). ...

May I throw a spanner (wrench) in the works here?

Even in the highly unlikely event that the correct spelling of pick-up truck is agreed, you still have the problem of defining what a truck actually is legally.
Pick-up trucks can be licensed as a truck or farm truck on the number plate (tag), so are presumably a specific vehicle defined in law, but when road signs - which must be obeyed - state something like "no through trucks" then they are not included in that category of prohibited vehicles defined as trucks.
If the law doesn't appear to know what they are, how are the road users meant to know?

Pick-up trucks can be licensed as a truck or farm truck on the number plate (tag), so are presumably a specific vehicle defined in law, but when road signs - which must be obeyed - state something like "no through trucks" then they are not included in that category of prohibited vehicles defined as trucks.

I have never seen such a sign anywhere I have been in the U.S.

What you may see is weight limits for trucks, but these limits are rarely low enough to affect pickup trucks.

http://www.trafficsign.us/r12.html

In California the distinctions are commercial vehicle for vehicles used in business and noncommercial vehicle for passenger cars and the like. There's some differences based on weight, where vehicles over a certain weight have to be registered commercial. Small and medium sized puckups and SUVs may be registered as either depending on how they're used. And there are two reasons truck bypasses are built here, both based on the weight of the vehicle. One is the bypass has a shallower grade through a mountain pass, that the truck's breaks and transmission would be more likely to be able to handle, and two, to prevent wear and tear on the road surface.

road signs - which must be obeyed - state something like "no through trucks"

We have an equivalent in France which means that trucks (i.e. transport vehicles) must not use the road unless they are going to destinations on that road; otherwise they must use a different route. Perhaps that is what is meant by your sign

I suspect that many Brits would use the same spelling, for the same reasons. Brits would know the term "pickup truck" from films and TV, but would default to spelling it as "pick-up truck".

My (British) Collins dictionary includes the unhyphenated pickup with the US meaning as the third of many meanings. The dictionary does not include the hyphenated version. I think hyphenation (? a valid word) is disappearing here and I would never use it for the small truck more commonly used in the USA

(though, to be fare,

Spell checking error "fare," the price for passage, for "fair," just.

I just checked the tools etc, and it has the English (GB) Language Pack installed. So it's using a UK English dictionary. Must have picked that up off the system when I downloaded it.

My UK English dictionary includes ONLY "pickup" with the third definition referring to the US use as "a small open truck for light loads".

Is used to pick up girls? If not, what does it pick up?

like the US pick-up.

A "pick-up" is mostly, but not always, female, often found at truck-stops and just before closing time at the bar.

Not a motor vehicle.

And different from a pick-me-up.

bb

How picky.

Sorry, but if she's found at a truck stop, she's a "lot lizard."

One evening in an Oklahoma City truck stop, I watched a chubby rent-a-cop (security guard) try to run down a mini-skirted lot lizard. It was no contest. She hiked up her mini-skirt and duck-walked under the trailers while the truckers cheered her on. Chubby was too fat to follow. After awhile, she found a willing driver and hid in his sleeper cab until the chubby guard gave up and left.

the movie "My Cousin Vinnie"

never seen it.

Do yourself a favour, watch it. Excellent movie, very entertaining.

utes = utilities

Unless you're watching the movie "My Cousin Vinnie" where "utes" was the way he said "youths" with his heavy NY accent.

I always knew it was something to do with them and just checked that a "ute" is a breed of Inuit dog/wolf.

As for IHOP wasn't he an Egyptian pharaoh? Certainly is elsewhere on SOL (but authors can make errors/up things.) As for the "International" I seem to recall that the USA had an International Baseball competition where only US teams could compete.

I go with EB that I try to write English but I do now understand the majority of American terms (but why the he** is Maryland a doctor of medicine - MD?

Railroadbob asked authors to use spellcheckers but EB's reply contained a classic demonstration of the weaknesses of any spellchecker: "other than what they're sued to changes the way English is written,".
Of course he intended to write "used" and any sensible reader will understand and make allowances for the fact that 50000 words cannot be individually examined with the human eye

"ute" is a breed of Inuit dog/wolf.

Ute is also the name of a native American tribe indigenous to the South West.

As for IHOP wasn't he an Egyptian pharaoh?

That would be Imhotep and no, he wasn't a pharaoh. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imhotep

A ton of utes

Why would you have 14 native Americans?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ute_people

~14 people at an average of 150 pounds to weigh one ton.

I don't know what makes it "international" perhaps locations in Canada?

AFIK: Pancakes served in different flavors/styles that come from many different countries.

Maybe they should have called it the House of International Pancakes.

I don't know what makes it "international"

Probably just following the lead set by the "World Series" in baseball.

The Toronto Blue Jays are located in Canada, so the finally makes the "World" Series an international event.

Both the Toronto Blue Jays and the Montreal Expos have been in the World Series in the past. But those are (were in the case of the Expos) the only teams outside the U.S. that qualify.

There aren't a lot of countries that play professional baseball. By that I mean the player's only employment, at least during the baseball season, is payments for playing baseball.

I can think of Japan, Mexico, some of the islands in the Caribbean like Cuba, and maybe Taiwan. There may be other Latin American countries that have professional baseball leagues. We have already included Canada which has some "minor league" teams in addition to Toronto and at one point Montreal.

A World Games of Baseball would include a relatively small number of nations. Probably Hockey has more world interest than baseball. Of course what we here in the USA call soccer and the rest of the world calls football is far more popular than almost any other sport. Except maybe racing vehicles using internal combustion engines (autos, motorcycles, trucks, buses, perhaps hydroplane and other motor boats. I don't think they have airplane races any more, if they do they may use jet engines.

I don't think they have airplane races any more

Yep, the Red Bull Air Race.

Haven't you heard: Red Bull gives you wings.

Being Red Bull, they'd have to be Buffalo Wings!

I know women can have wings but buffalo?

you'll only hear of in the USA.

EB. Mate. Where do you live? Here is a site publicising the Buffalo Wing Festival in Australia.
http://www.buffalowing.com.au/where-when/
Hang on - maybe we are a part of the US already!

It wasn't Crocodile Dundee? the movie. oops, the film. I don't remember any Quantas commercials. Some story here on SOL indicated Quantas stood for Queensland and N? territories. N may have been northern. The as may have been Australia. May have been Peter Salas something about Gordon and Weena. The character wasn't thrilled about them as an airline.

So called because they allegedly were first prepared in Buffalo NY

reviewed by an editor

Untrue. Either it wasn't reviewed, or the reviewer wasn't an editor. Saying it doesn't make it so :-)

Leant is OK. 'Lent' and 'was lent' isn't in that context.

Leant is OK. 'Lent' and 'was lent' isn't in that context.

Well, "Leant" (mainly Brit) is to lean, incline
"Lent" is a religious period of time, or the past tense of loan.
:)

Yep, that's what I said, without the explanation :-)