PERRO CALIENTE AMERICANA

[Arnold M. Zwicky]

On May 12, 2006, at 7:02 AM, Ron Butters wrote:

> In English, collocations such as "American fries," "Italian
> meatballs," and
> "Canadian bacon" MEAN 'potatoes fried in a way that originated in
> the United
> States', 'meatballs made the way Italians make them', and 'meat
> that Canadians
> call "bacon" but that is made from beef rather than pork'.

i've never heard this usage of "Canadian bacon".  in the u.s. usage i
know, "Canadian bacon" refers to back bacon (as canadians and u.k.
speakers call it), which is bacon from pigs, but considerably less
fatty than the usual american bacon ("streaky rashers").  i *think*
canadians use "Canadian bacon" to refer to a type of unsmoked bacon.

arnold

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org