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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To wonder why.. (brace yourself)

696 replies

BackAgainSlimLady · 24/02/2025 12:29

Single cucumbers from the supermarket come wrapped in plastic.. but single courgettes don’t?

if you ask me.. courgettes have a slightly more fragile skin that cucumber.. so why the lack of protection?

OP posts:
MrTiddlesTheCat · 24/02/2025 14:02

They never used to come in plastic. Then overnight something changed and they all did. I still have adjusted to the change.

ErrolTheDragon · 24/02/2025 14:02

@bridgetreilly

www.merriam-webster.com/grammar/just-deserts-or-just-desserts

Of course we're used to seeing it as a pun, cake shops etc.called 'Just Desserts'.

FeralWoman · 24/02/2025 14:02

@MegTheForgetfulCat I don’t really recall seeing marrow sold here in Australia. I suspect we’d call them overgrown zucchinis that should be fed to the chooks and pigs. Independent greengrocers might sell them if there’s a high British population in the area.

eqpi4t2hbsnktd · 24/02/2025 14:02

Surely it's because we cook courgettes and eat cucumber raw.

Allthegoodhorses · 24/02/2025 14:01

Crunchymum · 24/02/2025 13:12

Have a Google. It really is "just deserts".

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It is a joke relating to a thread yesterday. When a poster said it was just "desserts" to correct the OP, which then led to a whole pile of people saying the same despite loads of others saying "deserts" was indeed correct.

MegTheForgetfulCat · 24/02/2025 14:01

NooNakedJacuzziness · 24/02/2025 13:59

I'm sceptical that they're not also called courgettes in the US - I'm sure Prince sang about having a little red one anyway 🤔

Maybe they are in some states, perhaps the ones that started out as French colonies?

MegTheForgetfulCat · 24/02/2025 13:59

bridgetreilly · 24/02/2025 13:57

Yes it is! You get what you deserve, i.e. your just desserts.

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Yes, but it's spelt deserts, that's the point! Nothing to do with pudding.

Sahara123 · 24/02/2025 13:59

Bigearringsbigsmile · 24/02/2025 13:11

No it's not!!

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Don’t start that again 🤣

NooNakedJacuzziness · 24/02/2025 13:59

I'm sceptical that they're not also called courgettes in the US - I'm sure Prince sang about having a little red one anyway 🤔

Noodlie · 24/02/2025 13:58

To answer the original question, cucumbers are the spawn of the devil and come wrapped in plastic for your own protection. Without it, they would make everything in your fridge taste of soggy bland. With the bland only building in strength every day it was left uncovered. If it is wrapped, even though you purchased the thing, you still have the chance to come to your senses, bin it, and save yourself . . .

ErrolTheDragon · 24/02/2025 13:58

Panama2 · 24/02/2025 13:52

Just curious in the UK we have prawns = shrimps in other parts of the world but we also have shrimps smaller than prawns and called well shrimps.

Mmm...Morecambe Bay shrimps, lovely.
And we use 'shrimp' to mean a small person.

MegTheForgetfulCat · 24/02/2025 13:57

ChessorBuckaroo · 24/02/2025 13:52

Is it true that the ou and re spelling is French?

So colour, favourite, and centre, calibre.

...and that the English as a matter of respect did not discard the French influence but retained it? (so no dropping the u or switched to er ending). Think I read about this once, but no idea if it's true.

I'm Irish and we use the same English as those whose invented it. Always think it's bloody cheeky when a non English person tries to correct the English in regard to their own language.

Edited
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A lot of the ou and re words in British English were changed as a cultural affectation in order to "Frenchify" them, whereas the US usage stuck with the original spellings (center, color etc).

TyneTeas · 24/02/2025 13:57

Morrisons trialed not wrapping cucumbers a few years ago, it didn't go well and resulted in a load of food waste as the cucumbers went bad too quickly

bridgetreilly · 24/02/2025 13:57

Bigearringsbigsmile · 24/02/2025 13:11

No it's not!!

Show quote history

Yes it is! You get what you deserve, i.e. your just desserts.

Sd352 · 24/02/2025 13:56

ErrolTheDragon · 24/02/2025 13:18

No, Australia. Those two words are not used at all in Australia, or in New Zealand.

Interesting... I wonder why in this instance you went with the American English version rather than the U.K. French-derived equivalents?

Fwiw the etymology of aubergine is ... eggplant.

https://www.etymonline.com/word/aubergine

Edited

Nah, that etymology is wrong. It does come from the Sanskrit via the Persian but it doesn't mean egg plant in those languages. Same etymology (but different result) as brinjal which is used in Indian English.

InveterateWineDrinker · 24/02/2025 13:56

OswaldCobblepot · 24/02/2025 13:53

Oh, and last I checked, this is an International site that even uses an American domain address, not .co.uk

No, this is a UK based forum but we allow the occasional well behaved contributors from overseas. You're on a yellow card 😝

Don't you mean 'sin binned'?😈

Bluejacket · 24/02/2025 13:55

bellsend · 24/02/2025 12:59

Prepare yourself for a barrage from those who didn’t read that thread 😂😂

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Ha ha! I thought that

FeralWoman · 24/02/2025 13:55

@ExcessiveNumberOfNinjas It’s sweet potato in Australia. Available in yellow/orange, white and purple. I think kumara is different. New Zealand might use kumara.

We have three main types of cucumbers in Australia: continental cucumbers (the plastic wrapped ones), Lebanese cucumbers and apple cucumbers. There’s also small versions of Lebanese cucumbers called baby cucumbers or Qukes.

Yes peppers are called capsicums. Small hot things are chillis or chilli peppers.

Deathraystare · 24/02/2025 13:54

mellongoose · 24/02/2025 12:56

Because in 🇬🇧 uk it's called a courgette.

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French and English - Courgette

Italian/American - Zucchini

And don't assume that because you use the word in America it is written in stone that that is the only word used!!!!

MegTheForgetfulCat · 24/02/2025 13:54

WillIEverBeOk · 24/02/2025 13:44

I apologise for making the thread get derailed.

I'm quote enjoying the thread! Genuine question - what would you call what in the UK would be called a marrow?

In Italian it would be zucca and I think in French it's courge (zucchina and courgette being little zuccas/courges).

OswaldCobblepot · 24/02/2025 13:53

Oh, and last I checked, this is an International site that even uses an American domain address, not .co.uk

No, this is a UK based forum but we allow the occasional well behaved contributors from overseas. You're on a yellow card 😝

Panama2 · 24/02/2025 13:52

Just curious in the UK we have prawns = shrimps in other parts of the world but we also have shrimps smaller than prawns and called well shrimps.

Travelodge · 24/02/2025 13:52

WillIEverBeOk · 24/02/2025 12:55

YANBU. But I had to google 'courgettes'. Very strange word to use. Not sure why you can't say zucchini which is what it is.

Because Mumsnet is a British site and in the UK they are called courgettes.

And what you probably call "arugula" is actually rocket.

And the "h" is pronounced at the beginning of the word "herb".

And "biscuits with gravy" conjures up a revolting image of custard creams with Bisto.

Any more questions?

ChessorBuckaroo · 24/02/2025 13:52

AngelicKaty · 24/02/2025 13:37

😂😂😂I'm guessing you're in the US? Courgette is a French word. The most significant influences on the English language are French and Latin; both contributing roughly the same amount to the English vocabulary due to historical events like the Norman Conquest of England which introduced French vocabulary. (Indeed, the UK owned parts of France from the 12th century to the 16th century and French was spoken at the English Court). We use many French words in the UK, particularly in areas like law, government, and cuisine - hence using Courgette for this vegetable.

Show quote history

Is it true that the ou and re spelling is French?

So colour, favourite, and centre, calibre.

...and that the English as a matter of respect did not discard the French influence but retained it? (so no dropping the u or switched to er ending). Think I read about this once, but no idea if it's true.

I'm Irish and we use the same English as those whose invented it. Always think it's bloody cheeky when a non English person tries to correct the English in regard to their own language.

ifionlyhadacat · 24/02/2025 13:52

FeralWoman · 24/02/2025 13:23

As an Australian it’s our King’s English too. We’re part of the empire.

Zucchini, eggplant, rocket and coriander in Australia. Lots of Greek and Italian immigrants came to Australia in the 1970s I think. I’m guessing that they introduced zucchinis and eggplants to the country so we use their names for them.

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However, the Italian word for aubergine is melanzana