more burgers...McDonald's

[Lynne Murphy]

Serendipity.  I just passed through the lounge and saw the cover of the
review section of todays _Independent_, which is entitled "Who Ate All the
Burgers?" and is about whether the burger is dying out.  As a side-bar
there's "Kitchen confidential: what top foodies really think of the
burger", and two use something I've never heard in the US (but certainly
hear here):  'a McDonald's' or 'a Burger King' to mean one of those
establishments' hamburgers (I don't know if it refers to the whole meal,
but it seems to refer to any of the burgers).

The pieces by the top foodies are written in the first person, but the two
who use 'a McDonalds' are a transplanted American and an Irishman, so it's
uncertain whether the editor had their way with the phrasing:

Ruth Rogers:  "I've never had a McDonald's..."
Oliver Peyton:  "I've only had a McDonald's once..."

I also had a student write as an example in an assignment:
"I just had a Burger King"--so it's not specific to McD's.

Strangely, the side-bar is illustrated with a photo of a Filet O'Fish meal.


God, I am procrastinating today...

Lynne

M Lynne Murphy
Lecturer in Linguistics
School of Cognitive and Computing Sciences
University of Sussex
Brighton BN1 9QH
UK

phone +44-(0)1273-678844
fax   +44-(0)1273-671320