Phrases/words that set your teeth on edge.

[kernelbogey]

Mac 'n' cheese
This name, which has invaded British pub menus, and which apparently simply means what we have always called Macaroni Cheese irritates me because (a) it first makes me think of it as a MacDonald's product and/or involving a meat patty; (b) we had a perfectly good name for it already; (c) galloping americanisms. (Apparently the derivation is from a US branded ready meal version of the dish.)

...and (d) Mac 'n' cheese seems to me what is known as a cheeseburger.

[french frank]

...and (d) Mac 'n' cheese seems to me what is known as a cheeseburger.

Wouldn't that be "Mac with cheese"?

[kernelbogey]

Wouldn't that be "Mac with cheese"?

We are, here, in the realm of my gastro-unconscious!

[Leinster Lass]

We are, here, in the realm of my gastro-unconscious!

I notice that things have started going UP to the wire - surely DOWN, which has served perfectly well for ages, makes more sense?

[Serial_Apologist]

Funnily enough, when something is described as cheesey I usually like it...

Well! I never had you down as someone of poor taste!

[french frank]

Well! I never had you down as someone of poor taste!

I wonder how "cheesy" got that meaning? Some cheeses are extremely expensive and very tasty indeed. The 'Somerset Truffler' is something to savour.

[cloughie]

I wonder how "cheesy" got that meaning? Some cheeses are extremely expensive and very tasty indeed. The 'Somerset Truffler' is something to savour.

I suspect it was connected with the Cheshire Cat grin which because of the native cheese became the cheesy grin.

[Nick Armstrong]

Mac 'n' cheese
This name, which has invaded British pub menus, and which apparently simply means what we have always called Macaroni Cheese irritates me because (a) it first makes me think of it as a MacDonald's product and/or involving a meat patty; (b) we had a perfectly good name for it already; (c) galloping americanisms. (Apparently the derivation is from a US branded ready meal version of the dish.)

I tend to sympathise ... but did the traditional English version have the nice crunchy herby grilled topping that is part of “Mac & cheese”? My recollection is it was rather a boring dollop of macaroni and melted cheddar that I always tried to avoid in the ‘70s - whereas the new “Americanised” version is considerably more interesting & tasty in my experience...

[french frank]

I suspect it was connected with the Cheshire Cat grin which because of the native cheese became the cheesy grin.

† cheesy, adj.2
Origin: Probably formed within English, by derivation. Etymons: cheese n.2, -y suffix1.
Etymology: Probably < cheese n.2 + -y suffix1.
slang. Obsolete. rare.

Ostentatious or showy (OED updated 2016, though I don't think it's caught up with the present usage - I thought it just meant naff.

1858 R. S. Surtees Ask Mamma xlviii. 211 To see him at Tattersall's sucking his cane, his cheesy hat well down on his nose.
1864 J. C. Hotten Slang Dict. (new ed.) Cheesy, fine or showy.


'Cheese' in this sense supposed to be from an Indo-European cīz, meaning first rate, cf the now obsolete colloquial 'the cheese', meaning roughly ace, brill, the real deal etc

[french frank]

did the traditional English version have the nice crunchy herby grilled topping that is part of “Mac & cheese”?

My mother made it with a cheese sauce and a layer of cheese on the top which was grilled - and was browned and crisp (and was the best part of it).

[vinteuil]

.

... a chiz is a swiz or a swindle as any fule kno


.

[oddoneout]

My mother made it with a cheese sauce and a layer of cheese on the top which was grilled - and was browned and crisp (and was the best part of it).

My mother's macaroni cheese was also a sauce affair and usually made when there were dried up ends to be finished up. The cheesiness of the sauce was rather dependent on the quantity of such ends as she wasn't keen on using 'good' cheese for cooking rather than making sandwiches. There was often a crunchy breadcrumb topping, again a thrift thing as dried out bits of bread were put through the mincer for later use. It was a job we children rather liked doing which was convenient...

[Nick Armstrong]

My mother's macaroni cheese was also a sauce affair and usually made when there were dried up ends to be finished up. The cheesiness of the sauce was rather dependent on the quantity of such ends as she wasn't keen on using 'good' cheese for cooking rather than making sandwiches. There was often a crunchy breadcrumb topping, again a thrift thing as dried out bits of bread were put through the mincer for later use. It was a job we children rather liked doing which was convenient...

Must have had duff macaroni chizes in t’Midlands then

[oddoneout]

Must have had duff macaroni chizes in t’Midlands then

Wouldn't know, didn't live there, but my mother's cooking was very much of the economy variety and didn't really shake off the effects of the war years until probably late 70s when the nest was empty and her housekeeping allowance went further.

[cloughie]

We’ll come out stronger