# offer someone a pocket tissue



## meijin

Hi, if someone said _"The other day, a girl was crying in the park, so I offered her a pocket tissue"_, I think it means that the speaker offered her a single tissue, probably like this:







Or could "a pocket tissue" mean the whole packet? (Or would you call it a _pack_?)


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## S1m0n

'A' seems pretty singular. I'd read that as a single tissue.


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## Rover_KE

You can omit 'pocket'.

_She gave her a tissue._


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## rosiebee37

I personally would never say "a pocket tissue", I would just say "a tissue" which yes would mean one singular tissue like in the image. To refer to the whole packet you would say "a packet of tissues" or yes you could also say "a pack of tissues".


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## bandini

I agree.  I've never heard "pocket' tissue before.  I assume that distinguishes it from the larger, full size one but I've never heard anyone draw that distinction.


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## meijin

Thanks all for the help.   

So I suppose you'd only add the word _pocket _and say "a pack(et) of pocket tissues" when the size is important. 

I use larger pack(et)s of tissues at home, similar to this one.


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## S1m0n

I was assuming it was a relic of the phrase 'pocket handkerchief''


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## heypresto

I think if we really needed to differentiate between a large tissue and a small one, we would refer to them simply as large or small tissues. I think you can forget 'pocket tissue.'


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## Myridon

I just checked around the house and it turns out that the tissues that come in the little plastic travel pouch are actually slightly larger than the ones that come in the medium-sized cubical box or the large rectangular box so the only substantial difference other than the packaging is how they are folded.


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## Wordy McWordface

I don't see how "a ..... tissue" can  possibly mean a whole pack.  A tissue is one tissue.

As for 'pocket tissue', I think it's like 'bathroom tissue' - one of those marketing phrases which nobody ever says in the real world.

She offered her a tissue.       
She offered her a pack of tissues.
She offered her a pocket tissue.


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## S1m0n

No one around here uses the word 'tissue' either, for that matter. It's a kleenex.


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## meijin

Thanks all. So "a small pack(et) of tissues" would automatically mean a pocket-sized pack(et) of tissues.



Myridon said:


> I just checked around the house and it turns out that the tissues that come in the little plastic travel pouch are actually slightly larger than the ones that come in the medium-sized cubical box or the large rectangular box


Thanks for checking. So a _small _pack(et) of tissues actually has _larger _tissues inside. Interesting. (Maybe it depends on the brand?)


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## sdgraham

meijin said:


> Thanks for checking. So a _small _pack(et) of tissues actually has _larger _tissues inside. Interesting. (Maybe it depends on the brand?)


Think about it for a minute: If the tissues were smaller it would really be messy trying to blow your nose in them.


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## meijin

sdgraham said:


> Think about it for a minute: If the tissues were smaller it would really be messy trying to blow your nose in them.


That's right. I thought maybe they were of the same size. I've never compared them myself.


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## Myridon

meijin said:


> That's right. I thought maybe they were of the same size. I've never compared them myself.


That's the point though.  If they are the same, they don't need a special name.


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## meijin

Myridon said:


> That's the point though.  If they are the same, they don't need a special name.


Maybe I'm missing something, but here in Japan we actually say "pocket tissue" because the pack is pocket-sized, not because the tissues inside are pocket-sized.


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## bandini

meijin said:


> Maybe I'm missing something, but here in Japan we actually say "pocket tissue" because the pack is pocket-sized, not because the tissues inside are pocket-sized.


Fascinating!  In Japan, do men actually carry them in their pockets or just women in purses?


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## heypresto

You must know by now that what you say in Japan has no bearing on what we say here, or in English.


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## bandini

heypresto said:


> You must know by now that what you say in Japan has no bearing on what we say here, or in English.


  jajaja


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## meijin

bandini said:


> In Japan, do men actually carry them in their pockets


Yes, many men (including me) do.


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## Myridon

meijin said:


> Maybe I'm missing something, but here in Japan we actually say "pocket tissue" because the pack is pocket-sized, not because the tissues inside are pocket-sized.


Once it's out of the package, it's just a tissue.  If I need a tissue, I don't care what package it comes out of.  If I want the whole package, then I might.

Here, a woman might have one of those packages in her purse, but most people would put them in their cars or put them in a suitcase on trips.  It's considered more of a "travel size" than a "pocket size."


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## JulianStuart

heypresto said:


> You must know by now that what you say in Japan has no bearing on what we say here, or in English.



It may be worth noting that the expression used in Japanese, according to the _specific_ entry in my* dictionary, are (the transliteration of) the English words "pocket tissue". It is also used for a packet of them. The use of (the Japanese pronunciation of) English words is quite common and may have misled meijin-san into expecting/thinking that they are also used in English 

*The link is to the web-based version, but many apps use the same database.


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## meijin

JulianStuart said:


> The use of (the Japanese pronunciation of) English words is quite common and may have misled meijin-san into expecting/thinking that they are also used in English


To be honest, I used the Japanese expression "pocket tissue" in the OP because:
1. Some of the Japanese-English dictionaries I use say the tissues are called pocket tissues in English too.
2. On a Japanese forum for English learners, an American translator says the tissues are called pocket tissues in English too.
(I can't give you the links for these pages because they are written mostly in Japanese)

But since I know Japanese-English dictionaries and the native speakers on that forum often use expressions that _real _native speakers don't use, I come here to find out the truth.


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## london calling

I've never heard of pocket tissues. As the others have said, they're just called tissues (unless you're 90 like my parents and call them paper hankies 🤣).


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## meijin

I think we tend to come up with English phrases that are shorter and easier to say (for us at least). "Pocket tissue" rather than _pocket-sized (or small) pack of tissues_, "milk coffee" rather than _coffee with milk_, "curry rice" rather than _curry and rice_, and so on.


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## JulianStuart

meijin said:


> I think we tend to come up with English phrases that are shorter and easier to say (for us at least). "Pocket tissue" rather than _pocket-sized (or small) pack of tissues_, "milk coffee" rather than _coffee with milk_, "curry rice" rather than _curry and rice_, and so on.


Interesting hypothesis.  In those cases it is the common understanding (in Japanese) of the "foreign" phrase that is at play.  In English there is no way the word "tissue" would be understood as a "pack of tissues".  Similarly, "Milk coffee" could be confusing to an English speaker but (I suspect) has a specific meaning when used in Japanese (the liquid in the cans in the vending machines  ).  Capuccino, latte and instant coffee with milk added would all be possibilities, depending on the location.  The "unusual" use of English in Japanese may have a counterpart in English, given the way Japanese words are frequently not pronounced they way they are in Japan.


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## Hermione Golightly

If the context is offering somebody a kleenex, I can't imagine the pettiness of taking one out of one's own packet, not to mention the unhygenic possibilities. You offer the packet so the person can remove their own.
Apart from that, why on earth would you go into detail about what sort of 'paper hankie' it was?


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## Edinburgher

london calling said:


> I've never heard of pocket tissues


Manufacturers call them that (here, for example) to distinguish them from the "regular" ones that come in a box.
They often have different specifications.  Tesco's pocket tissues are 4-ply, the boxed ones are only 3-ply.


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## JulianStuart

Edinburgher said:


> Manufacturers call them that (here, for example) to distinguish them from the "regular" ones that come in a box.
> They often have different specifications.  Tesco's pocket tissues are 4-ply, the boxed ones are only 3-ply.


As is often the case, a term is known only to a subset of people in the English speaking world.


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## Myridon

Edinburgher said:


> Manufacturers call them that (here, for example) to distinguish them from the "regular" ones that come in a box.
> They often have different specifications.  Tesco's pocket tissues are 4-ply, the boxed ones are only 3-ply.


When my nose is running, I'm not about to quibble over ply.  "I want a box tissue not a pocket tissue. The pocket tissues are too thick!"


Hermione Golightly said:


> If the context is offering somebody a kleenex, I can't imagine the pettiness of taking one out of one's own packet, not to mention the unhygenic possibilities. You offer the packet so the person can remove their own.


How did people survive all those years when handkerchiefs didn't come in hygenically sealed plastic?  If you have some loose kleenex in your pocket (that aren't used, of course), I would gladly use one. A little pocket lint isn't going to kill me. It's just as clean as the outside of the packet that you're expecting me to touch just before touching my face.


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## meijin

Hermione Golightly said:


> I can't imagine the pettiness of taking one out of one's own packet,


I agree. A parent might take one out for their child, though. The photo in the OP is probably showing that.



Myridon said:


> Here, a woman might have one of those packages in her purse, but most people would put them in their cars or put them in a suitcase on trips. It's considered more of a "travel size" than a "pocket size."


Rereading this comment, I can't help wondering what men in your country do when they suddenly want to blow their noses on the street. No one in Japan blows their nose on a handkerchief.


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## heypresto

They use one of the set of three handkerchiefs with their initial embroidered in the corner that they were given at Christmas. Or a tissue.


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## ewie

Back in the Old Century a manufacturer here used to call (extra-?)large tissues _man-size  _

@Hermione Golightly : It would never occur to me to use the word _kleenex/Kleenex_ rather than _tissue _


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## Edinburgher

meijin said:


> No one in Japan blows their nose on a handkerchief.


How strange.  What do they do with them, then? It's one of their principal uses (apart from wiping sweat off one's brow, or drying one's tears of despair at, for example, someone else using theirs to wipe the oil off an engine dipstick).

When I was small, we were encouraged to change our handkerchiefs daily.  I had a set of seven, each printed with the name of a different day of the week.

Nowadays, when I'm in the house, I just use a sheet of kitchen roll, affectionately known as E.B. (elephant bumf) because, after all, it's just a scaled-up version of toilet roll.


ewie said:


> Back in the Old Century a manufacturer here used to call (extra-?)large tissues _man-size_


They still do.


ewie said:


> It would never occur to me to use the word _kleenex/Kleenex_ rather than _tissue_


I, too, tend to call them _kleenexes_ rather than tissues, just as I call vacuum cleaners _hoovers_.


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## ewie

Edinburgher said:


> They still do.


 (I was actually thinking of the brand 'Scotties' rather than 'Kleenex'.)


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## Szkot

Edinburgher said:


> kitchen roll, affectionately known as E.B. (elephant bumf) because, after all,it's just a scaled-up version of toilet roll.


Scottish Water will not be happy if you are trying to flush kitchen roll into their sewers, though your plumber may be  .


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## Edinburgher

When I use EB for my nose, I put the used sheets in the bin.  When I wipe my pet elephant's bum with it, it does go in the toilet, but it's a special elephant-size toilet with extra-wide-bore plumbing, so it' snot a problem.


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## sound shift

london calling said:


> I've never heard of pocket tissues. As the others have said, they're just called tissues (unless you're 90 like my parents and call them paper hankies 🤣).


You don't have to be 90 to do that. I'm a generation younger than your parents, and I do it (albeit I say "paper handkerchiefs").

I too have never heard of pocket tissues.


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## meijin

Edinburgher said:


> How strange. What do they do with them, then? It's one of their principal uses (apart from wiping sweat off one's brow, or drying one's tears of despair at, for example, someone else using theirs to wipe the oil off an engine dipstick).


We use them to wipe sweat like that (in summer), and some of us probably dry their tears like that, but my primary use is drying my hands after washing them in the public toilet. I prefer it to using the paper towels or hand dryer equipped there because I think using a handkerchief is more eco-friendly.


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## bandini

Szkot said:


> Scottish Water will not be happy if you are trying to flush kitchen roll into their sewers, though your plumber may be  .


Paper towels are called "kitchen roll" in the Kingdom?  Interesting.


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## Wordy McWordface

bandini said:


> Paper towels are called "kitchen roll" in the Kingdom?  Interesting.


Indeed.

Loo roll/toilet roll/bog roll in the "bathroom" - 'kitchen roll' in the kitchen. Logical, eh?

You might also hear 'kitchen towel' and 'kitchen paper'.  All uncountable.


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## bandini

Wordy McWordface said:


> Indeed.
> 
> Loo roll/toilet roll/bog roll in the "bathroom" - kitchen roll in the kitchen. Logical, eh?


"Bogg roll!"  really?  I understand the Loo because I think it was borrowed from the French during WWI as another word for latrine although I didn't know about this use and, actually, I'm just guessing about this etymology.  The British dialect always fascinates me.  thanks


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## Roxxxannne

meijin said:


> I agree. A parent might take one out for their child, though. The photo in the OP is probably showing that.
> 
> 
> Rereading this comment, I can't help wondering what men in your country do when they suddenly want to blow their noses on the street. No one in Japan blows their nose on a handkerchief.


Regular kleenexes folded carefully and carried in one's pants pocket are the solution in my household. Pocket lint (#30) is not a problem


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## heypresto

bandini said:


> "Bogg roll!" really?


Yes, really.  But with one G. _Bog roll_: BOG ROLL | Definition of BOG ROLL by Oxford Dictionary on Lexico.com also meaning of BOG ROLL

You might find this interesting: bath tissues where it is mentioned in post  #51.


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