# French fries [in container]



## homotopy07

What would you call this? A paper cup of French fries?


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## JulianStuart

I can't see the picture but if there is more than one piece of potato it is a picture of some (or "an order of" etc.) french frie*s*.
Edit: Re-loading I can see the image (my first response was based on the thread title of "French Fry" (not fries) I guessed close originally It looks like an _order_ of fries. The piece of paper doesn't really have its own specific name.


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## jimanchower

I would not call that a "cup," which to me implies that it's suitable for drinking liquid. That container is made of something like parchment paper. If I wanted to purchase what is pictured at a roadside stand I would say, "I'd like some fries" or "I'd like an *order* of fries," using "order" as a noun.


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## JulianStuart

This company sells things it calls French Fry Cups and Cones. They also sell pails and boats


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## kentix

They have to call them something to sell them.  "Thingies" won't do.


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## homotopy07

Thank you all.


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## Uncle Jack

A small bag of chips. 
It does look rather a measly portion, though.


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## homotopy07

Uncle Jack said:


> A small bag of chips.
> It does look rather a measly portion, though.


Thanks.





Do you call this "chips"?

Here in Japan, we normally call it "potato chip." (Not "potato chip*s* – Japanese nouns don't inflect.)


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## Ponyprof

British is chips versus crisps

North America is fries versus chips


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## owlman5

It looks as though the fries in the first picture are covered with some sort of melted cheese. If that is true, I would call that _a small bag/order of cheese fries. _


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## Uncle Jack

homotopy07 said:


> Do you call this "chips"?


No, they're crisps. We Brits invented the "sps" sound just to make life harder for non-natives (it puzzles a few of the local inhabitants as well   )


owlman5 said:


> It looks as though the fries in the first picture are covered with some sort of melted cheese. If that is true, I would call that _a small bag/order of cheese fries. _


Ah! Cheesy chips.

Not so good them; they don't go so well with vinegar.


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## homotopy07

Ponyprof said:


> British is chips versus crisps
> 
> North America is fries versus chips


Thanks. Hmm... maybe, I should call it "a packet of chips" or "a bowl of chips" in American English.


owlman5 said:


> _a small bag/*order* of cheese fries. _


Thanks. By *order*, do you mean "something ordered (e.g., in a restaurant)"?


Uncle Jack said:


> No, they're crisps. We Brits invented the "sps" sound just to make life harder for non-natives (it puzzles a few of the local inhabitants as well   )
> 
> Ah! Cheesy chips.
> 
> Not so good them; they don't go so well with vinegar.


Thanks.


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## Ponyprof

Yes. You just say I want an order of chips and then they come in whatever that shop uses, envelope or bag or cup or paper box. The containers are varied. Each shop might have it's own name that they use behind the counter or to order from the supplier but there is no set word from the customers point of view.


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## owlman5

You're welcome.





homotopy07 said:


> By *order*, do you mean "something ordered (e.g., in a restaurant)"?


Yes. Using _order _saves you the trouble of figuring out what to call the various containers that fries are served in.

cross-posted


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## homotopy07

Thanks, Ponyprof and owlman.


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## natkretep

'An order' is good. The picture in the OP does not really show a cup. It's possible for chips (fries) to be served in cups, and you _can _say a cup of chips, like Oporto in Australia: Chilli Cheese Chips Cup | Oporto - Fresh Grilled Chicken and Burgers


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## bennymix

Here's a source using 'carton':

These Fast Food Chains Serve The Most Fries


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## homotopy07

Thanks, natkretep and bennymix.


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## Barque

Ponyprof said:


> British is chips versus crisps
> 
> North America is fries versus chips


It's funny but in India and neighbouring countries, where British English terms are used much more than American ones (perhaps it's changing now), the word _crisps_ has never been used. The usual word for _crisps_ here is the American _chips_.


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## Uncle Jack

homotopy07 said:


> Is "French fries" commonly used in Indian English?


It might be worth pointing out that "fries", often without the "French" and almost always without the "potatoes"* is common enough in Britain in burger bars, pubs and restaurants, where you would indeed just ask for "fries" or "a portion of fries" (or "chips" or "a portion of chips") and the container they come in is not important. 

However, in chip shops (takeaways, generally with no inside seating), not only is "chips" the only term to be used, there is also a distinction to be made between wanting your chips wrapped up and wanting them open, as shown in the picture. For the latter, I would ask for a bag of chips (or cheesy chips, in this case), irrespective of the type of container they come in, However, I have also seen "cone" used, where the container is a cone of paper. You can also just ask for "chips" or "a portion of chips" and then add "open" at the end (or in answer to the question "open or wrapped?"). However, the picture shows only about a half to two thirds the quantity I would expect from a British chip shop for a small bag.

* "French fried potatoes" is the original term, with a quote in OED from 1856. The earliest quote for "French fries" is 1902. Curiously there is also the form "French frieds" with four quotes, one of them recent. Curiously "fries" on its own does not appear to have an entry in OED at all.


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## ewie

homotopy07 said:


> View attachment 37089
> 
> What would you call this? A paper cup of French fries?


_A cone of chips._


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## Loob

ewie said:


> _A cone of chips._


Yes, that's what I was thinking too


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## homotopy07

Uncle Jack said:


> "open or wrapped?"


Thanks. My guess was "For here or to go?". 


ewie said:


> _A cone of chips._


Thanks.


Loob said:


> Yes, that's what I was thinking too


Thanks.


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## PaulQ

In Scottish English, that's a "poke of chips".


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## london calling

ewie said:


> _A cone of chips._


That's what I was thinking.


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## Barque

Uncle Jack said:


> there is also a distinction to be made between wanting your chips wrapped up and wanting them open,





Uncle Jack said:


> and then add "open" at the end (or in answer to the question "open or wrapped?").


Just out of curiosity, what's the difference this makes? I'd imagine that even if the chips were wrapped up, it wouldn't take much time or effort to unwrap them.


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## boozer

I was thinking of a roll of chips, but 'cone' is more appropriate, given the thing's shape. (which is actually a paper funnel  )



Uncle Jack said:


> ... they don't go so well with vinegar.


No chips ever do unless you mean to spoil them  For me, too, both 'French fries' and 'potato crisps' are chips. I recognise and understand 'potato crisps' but I never use it...


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## PaulQ

Barque said:


> Just out of curiosity, what's the difference this makes?


If you are taking them home to eat, e.g. as part of a family meal, you have them wrapped with extra paper (to keep them hot); if you intend to eat them as you walk you have them open.


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## Barque

Ah, I see.  Thank you.


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## Edinburgher

natkretep said:


> 'An order' is good.


I'm not aware of ever hearing them referred to as an order.  If not naming the container, it would be "a portion".


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## homotopy07

Thank you all.


boozer said:


> For me, too, both 'French fries' and 'potato crisps' are chips.


Some Japanese refer to "French fries" as _potato sticks_.


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## PaulQ

For reference:


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## homotopy07

Thanks, Paul.


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## ewie

homotopy07 said:


> Some Japanese refer to "French fries" as _potato sticks_.


Funny you should mention that because I call _these_ things



_cardboardy potato sticks wrapped in more cardboard_


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## homotopy07

ewie said:


> _cardboardy potato sticks wrapped in more cardboard_


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## lingobingo

More or less everything has already been said here. I would just add that in my experience it’s most unlikely that a Brit would describe a single portion of chips/fries as an “*order*” (we’d only use that word to mean everything we’d ordered, e.g. if complaining that part of the order was missing).


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## homotopy07

Thanks, lingo.


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## JulianStuart

PaulQ said:


> For reference:
> View attachment 37113​


Souns like you can add 
AE=order (or side) BE=portion


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## Packard

lingobingo said:


> More or less everything has already been said here. I would just add that in my experience it’s most unlikely that a Brit would describe a single portion of chips/fries as an “*order*” (we’d only use that word to mean everything we’d ordered, e.g. if complaining that part of the order was missing).


   

You took the words right out of my mouth.  I would order a "large order" or "small order" of fries.  Or, "Do fries come with it?" (Almost always it is "Yes.")

McDonald's only refers to the "box" in their websites as "compostable packaging".

French Fries (Medium) Compostable Packaging
*French Fries (Medium) Compostable Packaging*


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## velisarius

The chips in the photo in #32 are a meagre portion, perhaps just a garnish, served up in something that bears only a passing resemblance to the traditional scrap of old newspaper. How times change!


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## kentix

I am amused by the horror expressed towards the size of this container by the BE speakers. Americans have a reputation for eating too much yet this seems like a perfectly adequate quantity to me if you want some fries _with_ your meal.

I wouldn't know what to call that particular container, though, except a serving container.


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## JulianStuart

kentix said:


> I am amused by the horror expressed towards the size of this container by the BE speakers. Americans have a reputation for eating too much yet this seems like a perfectly adequate quantity to me if you want some fries _with_ your meal.
> 
> I wouldn't know what to call that particular container, though, except a serving container.


I think the cross section of those (seasoned) fries in #32 is significanty greater than those in #34, but that's just based on experience


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## Ponyprof

kentix said:


> I am amused by the horror expressed towards the size of this container by the BE speakers. Americans have a reputation for eating too much yet this seems like a perfectly adequate quantity to me if you want some fries _with_ your meal.
> 
> I wouldn't know what to call that particular container, though, except a serving container.



In Canada I think that you get far more fries if you are in a fish and chip shop than you do if you get a small order of fries with your hamburger from a fast food place. Perhaps this reflects that a hamburger already has a sizeable bun? Not sure. But you can always supersize your fries at a fast food place!


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## Packard

Amusingly McDonald's has almost as many ingredients in their fries as they do fries.  I would have thought it would be just potatoes, salt and the frying oil.  But this article lists "nearly 20" ingredients, many with names you've never heard of.

Why Do McDonald’s Fries Have Nearly 20 Ingredients?


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## kentix

Yes, as has been pointed out before, despite the superficial resemblance, chips and fries are two different ideas and they are served in different ways to match the meals they were designed to accompany.


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## ewie

velisarius said:


> The chips in the photo in #32 are a meagre portion, perhaps just a garnish, served up in something that bears only a passing resemblance to the traditional scrap of old newspaper. How times change!


I'm pretty sure I've only ever seen cones of chips sold at (e.g.) funfairs / amusement parks in the UK ~ places where you're only going to be having them as a 'snack'; the portions are pretty meagre and (obviously) bear no relation whatever to the price 

P.S. I didn't know there were fish and chip shops in Canada


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## Ponyprof

Oh yes! But they tend to be sit down cafes, not just stalls. Though I think the park concession stands still do fish and chips.

And the best are near (former) fish docks or attached to fish shops. They are also on the menu of some casual restaurants. A few of the wonderful old ones have closed over the years especially as the fishing has declined, fish are more expensive, and maybe we are further away from British roots.


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## homotopy07

Packard said:


> I would order a "large order" or "small order" of fries.  Or, "Do fries come with *it*?" (Almost always it is "Yes.")


What does *it* refer to?


kentix said:


> Americans have a reputation for eating too much


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## Barque

homotopy07 said:


> What does *it* refer to?


The main food item you're ordering. You could order a burger and ask if fries come with it at no extra charge, or if they have to be ordered and paid for separately.


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## homotopy07

Thanks, Barque.


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## Packard

Barque said:


> The main food item you're ordering. You could order a burger and ask if fries come with it at no extra charge, or if they have to be ordered and paid for separately.


   
Thanks, Barque.  I probably should have included some context, but it seemed we were all talking about McDonald's so I thought it was not necessary.


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