Shrimp(s) and prawns

Wilson Gray hwgray at GMAIL.COM
Wed Mar 11 00:05:44 UTC 2009


I've just heard the character, "di Noso"(sp?), of NCIS say that
"prawns" is the Australian word for "shrimps." I've long been under
the impression that "shrimp" is the standard word for _shrimp_ and
that "prawn" is the standard word for _prawn_ throughout the
English-speaking world. And there exists an Australian movie whose
title is The *Shrimp* On The Barbie and *not* The *Prawn* On The
Barbie.

I seem to remember a time when the plural of "shrimp" was *shrimp*,
like unto "sheep, sheep." But maybe it was just a BE thing. Or maybe
the problem is with my memory. I won't bet money on this.

-Wilson
–––
All say, "How hard it is that we have to die"---a strange complaint to
come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
-----
-Mark Twain

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



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