&gt;Personally, I don't know any Americans &gt;who would say "a awkward situation". &gt;I'm sure some do, but definitely not &gt;all or most of us! <BR><BR>I've heard it too in American politicians. Of course many Americans don't say it just as many Britons don't say "law rand order". Unfortunately sloppy speech exists on both sides of the pond.

Oh, please don't go to American politicians' speech as any kind of standard.

Akshelly, S Wilde etc., it all depends on what "duffing up" means.

"Duffing up" means to beat the 'crap' out of some-one

Okay, after reading numerous posts about how Americans supposedly pronounce buttocks, let me say I am an American and I have NEVER said "butt-ox." Please don't judge all Americans by what you see on South Park.

See you in London in the "Farl" or is it in "Audum"?

I've heard people say 'a awkward situation', but then again I live in the american south where bad grammar and pronunciation is an artform. <BR><BR>Is 'pudding' what we americans call 'ice cream'?<BR>It's kind of funny because when my English friends come to visit me and we go out to breakfast I have to remind them biscuits here don't mean the same thing as biscuits there.

"Pudding" in Britain would be "dessert" in the US. Ice cream is ice cream.

Kim pudding is what you call dessert.<BR>It's a class thing, pudding is upper/middle class, dessert is Mrs. Bucket and working class people call it sweet.

I've always wondered cuz after my friends say it they always seemed to get ice cream. :-) that's why i plugged the two together! thxs for clarifying.

Kim ,<BR><BR>out of curiosity what does " biscuits " mean in the US ?<BR><BR>regards<BR><BR>Mark<BR>

they're maybe inch high dough cakes(depends on if they are in a can or homemade), yet light and flaky small round. sort of like and unsweetened cake-y doughnut it's definitely not a doughnut. the best kind are buttermilk. <BR><BR>I think for the English biscuits are basically cookies or cookie-like.<BR>it's really kind of hard to describe a biscuit...people ask me what grits are and i can't describe that either.

Biscuits in the U.S. are a kind of bread/roll (or baked dumpling) made by mixing flour, milk or water, a little baking soda and powder, rolling out to a thick depth, and cutting about 2-4" across and baking. Variations include stacking two of the rounds of dough to make a higher biscuit, or not rolling and cutting but just dropping the fairly damp dough in clumps on the sheet (="drop biscuits"). <BR><BR>They are usually served with plenty of butter and/or preserves, but esp. in the South, a sandwich of biscuits plus ham and/or cheese and/or hardfried eggs is a common breakfast, esp. in fast-food places. <BR><BR>A sweet version of biscuits is used for the "cake" in strawberry shortcake.<BR><BR>If any Brit who has had American biscuits ("ham biscuits," "cheese biscuits" etc.) can suggest a comparable food familiar to Brits, I'd be curious to know what it is.

Thanks Kim , <BR><BR>Grit is something we put on the road to break up snow.

sorry one of those sentences sounds a little schizo.<BR>what i wanted to say was that it has some similarities to a cake-y doughnut in the general taste arena but it doesn't look like a doughnut at all.<BR>And to add we usually pour tons of gravy or butter over them.

There are at least a dozen major variations on the American biscuit, but they are more bread than cake. As a general rule, they are never leavened with yeast, and they are savoury rather than sweet.<BR><BR>My favorite has always been the flaky sort, which are made with very nearly the same recipe as the average croissant, only they are simply cut out flat from the pastry with a round cutter. They ARE delicious eaten as a sandwich with a bit of sugar-cured ham in the middle.<BR><BR>The simplest sort to make are drop biscuits, which are made with a very thick batter leavened by buttermilk and baking powder, dropped by the spoonful onto a greased baking pan. My Irish mother made these frequently. She often said that those were the same as making scones, only without the sugar and peel.<BR><BR>Perfect American biscuits are one of those legendary baking challenges. The recipes usually are very simple, with only 3-5 ingredients, but the result is all in the technique. A good biscuit should be very light and airy with a distinct buttery flavour, and melt in your mouth when you bite into it. I've encountered biscuits that were heavy enough to use as a doorstop; that is NOT the result one usually strives for.

The closest British thing to American biscuits is scones, but biscuits have less sugar and no raisins or currants.<BR><BR>What Americans call "English muffins" are called crumpets by the English, I think.

Drop biscuits are great for breakfast covered with butter and flour gravy.<BR><BR>BTW, on our first trip to England we visited a McDonalds near Marble Arch where I asked for a sausage and biscuit. <BR><BR>Poor young girl at the counter did not have a clue why I would ask for a piece of sausage on a cookie and I knew that wasn't what I had asked for either. <BR><BR>She called the manager who immediately asked if I was from the the states. Upon hearing my Southern accent he knew, and immediately told the girl..."Hes a Yank."..She says OK I understand now!<BR><BR>US

Crumpets are like half an English muffin that's been baked or griddled and the dough has bubbled and the bubbles burst so there are holes in it.<BR><BR>Two of my students were having tea in an English hotel and the waiter was describing crumpets, but he didn't have any, so he sent his assistant-boy out for some. The boy had never heard of them (!), so the waiter described them as, I guess, those things with bubbles in them. About 10 minutes later the boy came back with... bubblewrap. The kind waiter made sure they had some crumpets with dinner.<BR><BR>S. Wilde, it is true then.<BR><BR>Iris, biscuits also have fat in them (shortening/lard), which is what makes them flaky, I think. The trick is not to overwork the dough, something I find impossible since you have to mush it around a bit to get it to stick together.

I'm intriqued by English Muffins, as they only appeared over here (England) a few years back under the guise of Canadian Muffins, which I would describe as an overgrown fairy cake.<BR><BR>The "original" English muffins, are more like your biscuits, plain, eaten with butter at breakfast or tea.<BR><BR>Please, please, please never send us grits.