Wherein we ask each other dialect questions we don't quite understand

[pedr]

The 'origin of the term' bit in the US section of the "College" entry on Wikipedia is interesting - while the first US higher education institutions were small and their founders compared them to the constituent colleges of the two English Universities they knew of (and were graduates of) as they were places of residence, eating together, individual tuition, etc rather than formal and bureaucratic (and didn't teach higher degrees in theology and medicine) the expansion of higher education in the UK came by 19th and early 20th century institutions receiving University status, and these tended not to have an Oxbridge-style collegiate structure so the word "college" wasn't used except internally within Oxford, Cambridge and a handful of others.

And to be precise, in the UK the word "university" generally designates an institution which awards its own degrees while a college is part of a larger institution with degree-awarding powers. It seems that the early US colleges were given these powers in their own right so the word doesn't carry that distinctive meaning in the US.

 

[Morrus]

Here, a continental breakfast is breads and pastries for breakfast. As opposed to an American breakfast which is eggs and meat. And a Southern breakfast would be an American breakfast plus grits, biscuits, and gravy.

Bullgrit

That entire last sentence is largely incomprehensible to me. What on earth are "grits"? (The name sounds hideous!) And I'm given to understand biscuits are an entirely different thing over there, too (what you call cookies we call biscuits, and what you call biscuits I haven't the faintest idea!) You'll probably tell me gravy is something different there, too, from the way things are going! I would put gravy on roast beef for Sunday lunch. So the breakfast image you've just conjured up for me sounds like cookies covered in beef gravy with a side of the stuff they put down on icy roads.

Here's what you've conjured in my mind:







I'm assuming that isn't the actual meal, though.

 

[Morrus]

And to be precise, in the UK the word "university" generally designates an institution which awards its own degrees while a college is part of a larger institution with degree-awarding powers.

Or a sixth form, or A-Level giving place, of course. Do they still have A Levels?

 

[pedr]

Yes I wasn't precise enough - college has lots of meanings as a rather generic word for "educational institution" and in general usage in England probably refers most often to a Further Education college which provides education for 16-18 year olds (US grades 11 & 12, English years 12 & 13) and training and education courses as part of the wonderful variety of UK qualification and training frameworks. Sometimes compared with US Community Colleges, but I'm sure there are significant differences.

The biggest, of course, is that until relatively recently formal qualifications at 16 were highly regarded as preparation for work or further study, with CSEs providing a basis for training in various trades or simple clerical work and O-Levels having a real meaning (in the economy of the mid-20th Century, at least). Leaving school at 16 with significant qualifications was a real possibility. Only certain schools offered education to 16-18 year olds and as the economy shifted to needing far more workers with more advanced qualifications, "sixth form colleges" developed. What's the school leaving age in the US? (Perhaps it varies from state to state?) It's only in the last few years that 16-18 year olds are expected to be receiving some kind of formal education and training - and for many that will be in apprenticeships or other work-based learning.

(Most of this not really responding to Morrus, though the direct answer is Yes, A-Levels still exist and are the primary post-16 qualification for those planning to go to university. There are lots of alternative or complementary qualifications, though, with different focuses.)

 

[Bullgrit]

American biscuits:

Grits:

Breakfast gravies:
Sawmill gravy (white, thick):

Red eye gravy (red-brown, thin):

As we would say, "This food will put hair on your chest."

Bullgrit

 

[Morrus]

As we would say, "This food will put hair on your chest."

Wow. So every single word meant something different! It was an entirely different sentence in each dialect!

 

[pedr]

I'm trying to think of a meat-flavoured white sauce in English cooking and not recalling one, though it's a sensible concoction!

I've never tasted an American biscuit and think of it like a savoury scone - is that accurate?

Grits aren't part of English cooking as maize isn't the staple grain - I guess it's like eating a thick porridge?

 

[nerfherder]

In several instances, a University is composed of several Colleges.

Similarly, the University of London is composed several Colleges - e.g. Imperial College, Kings College, University College.

So, I would say that I was going to college, but most of my friends, going to other establishments around the country, would say that they were going to university.

 

[Umbran]

What on earth are "grits"?

A cornmeal porridge, like a loose, creamy polenta. While polenta is usually made with standard cornmeal, grits are traditionally made from hominy, which is corn treated with lye. Grits can be a sweet or savory dish.

And I'm given to understand biscuits are an entirely different thing over there, too (what you call cookies we call biscuits, and what you call biscuits I haven't the faintest idea!)

What we call biscuits are a usually a quickbread (meaning, chemically leavened, rather than yeast-leavened), small loaf, firm and browned crust with a softer (occasionally flakey) interior. Their closest British analog is likely a savory scone.

You'll probably tell me gravy is something different there, too, from the way things are going! I would put gravy on roast beef for Sunday lunch.

The gravy he's talking about is... similar. For your roast beef gravy, you'd take the roast drippings to make a roux, and use that to thicken some broth.

For sausage gravy, you'd use drippings from browning up ground pork sausage rather than roast drippings. You'd add some cream and/or milk instead of broth, and then put some of the ground sausage back into the gravy, and pour it over a split (bread) biscuit.

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

 

[Bullgrit]

I've heard of scones, and I'm sure I've seen one sometime in my life, but I can't remember or imagine right now what they look like.

Bullgrit