BristolUK

One for each member of the team?

Shard

All for the teen. I don't buy it when it's 4.50.

BristolUK

Was it 11 because that's what they had left?

Shard

Kind of. First visit bought 5 (all they had left) second 6 (some left). I generally don't buy more than half a dozen of promotions as I leave some for other people. Also bought 3 Green & Blacks at £3, and I may well dip into one of those. I actually don't like HD Belgian Chocolate flavour that much. GB is plain chocolate.

Pizzawheel

So on Saturday, in the Foreign Foods section, a Canadian chap asked me if Beetroot was the same as Beets. He's heard of Beets, never beetroot (he was holding a jar of polish pickled beetroot). I was so flabbergasted clearly my reply wasn't trustworthy so after being assured it was the same he went and asked someone else.

In hindsight was probably an old boy who'd never used a supermarket before and needed directing to the regular pickles section.

caretaker

Nobody but Brits calls it beetroot, they're beets, same as carrots aren't called carrot-root, parsnips aren't called parsnip-root, etc.

BEVS

Ahem. The kiwis over here in the land the world forgot definately call 'em beetroots and it is beetroot with everything.

Personally I would only call the red ones beetroots. Any other beets are plain old beets.

I'm thinking I might start using carrotroots and parsniproots in my best UK West Country accent to confound the buggers. Make a change from saying mangleworzel on demand.

caretaker

I just get basic cable.

Pizzawheel

really? Well I always preferred Betrave anyway

BEVS

Wah!

Karma

Jingsamichty

Beetroot is red and delicious.

Beets (sugar beets) are pale and not edible as food.

Shard

Beets, beetroot, pickles, no thank you. Dreadful stuff. I could never survive in Russia.

caretaker

In Canada, beets are red and delicious. We don't eat sugar beets (known as sugar beets in Canada), but in Alberta they grow them and make granulated sugar and bad liquor out of them.

Siouxie

Abbreviating beetroot to 'beets' is perhaps just N.American laziness when it comes to language...

Jingsamichty

We don't eat sugar beets either, and we also make granulated sugar out of them. I'm not aware of any UK liquor produced from sugar beet.

I wonder if "carrot" is already an old diminutive of "car-root"?