Dessert, sweet, pudding or afters? Which do you say and where are you from?

[WildFlowerBees]

We've always said pudding, Lancashire born. Having this conversation with someone who says sweet. Haven't heard it called that in years!

Interesting that so many see this as a class indicator. One of my grandparents uses the word "sweet" but I've never heard a younger person say that. When I was young my mum would use "afters" interchangeably with "pudding" but I haven't heard "afters" for a long time now. As restaurant menus use "dessert" I would say it has become much more commonly used.

Pudding. London.

Pudding, from Yorkshire. “Sweet” is very Hyacinth Bucket try-hard, and “afters” not trying hard enough. “Dessert” is ok but unnecessarily formal.

Pudding, London. Except maybe in a restaurant when offered the dessert menu. Remember it being referred to as sweet in school decades ago. Never heard of afters.

Pudding - Scotland

And definitely not posh.

Pudding is just inaccurate unless it’s an actual pudding, as far as I’m concerned. Like ‘washing the pots’ - a phrase my boyfriend uses. This annoys me unless he’s actually washing saucepans. To me, it’s doing the washing up. 13 years together and it still annoys me! I suspect I’m being very unreasonable. Especially as he never bloody washes the saucepans, he leaves them to ‘soak’ indefinitely. Grrr.

That’s quite funny as I feel the same about ‘afters’ - it’s as if what comes after your main meal is so distasteful that people can’t bear to name it 😂

We say pudding in my house - Both DH and I are Home Counties born and bred. My Scottish mother in law says ‘the sweet’

As a kid in Sussex it was 'Afters'... Don't usually eat anything other than main course these days

But dessert isn't posh! it's a middle-class affectation like w.c and fish-knives
Pudding and lavatory are acceptable and correct!

But it’s the U term for a course towards the end of a meal. It’s not suggesting your only options are Spotted Dick, Bread and Butter Pudding or Queen of Puddings.

Technically he is correct - washing pots and pans...

He has washed the 'pots' (plates, etc) and left the pans (for you to do!)

My Northern roots coming out!

It’s a fairly classic class indicator, like what you call the room where you might spend much of your leisure time at home, or what you might call what you sit on in that room to read or watch tv.

Pudding may be correct - but I've yet to find a restaurant with a pudding menu!

Also, pray tell, who are you to say what is "correct" (or "acceptable")?

Pray tell?? Oh please

It's etiquette, not me 'telling' people what is correct, ffs.

But a plate isn’t a pot?!

In the North they were called pots! From pottery... plates bowls etc
But then again, I am old

This is true. I think that genuinely posh people don’t give a hoot or even notice what other people say. It seems to be the upwardly mobile/aspiring middle classes who cringe and find it simply ghastly when people they look down on say words like settee, toilet, dessert or pardon.

I say all the above although I think I was brought up to say afters.

So am I! Pudding.
( I also say loo)
And to add, re post above, I don't look down on anyone who says anything different, as what I say is just what I grew up with. I definitely don't thing anyone is ghastly, but then I'm proper posh 😂

Lancashire. Dessert.
Though I seem to recall pudding from school days.

But wasn't that an actual pudding anyway?
Spotted dick etc.. 🤔

A 'Manchester Tart' would be a 'Sweet' for example 😋

@TinaYouFatLard "I think that genuinely posh people don’t give a hoot or even notice what other people say."

Oh they do! They don't show it though, and the person concerned doesn't realise that they have been found wanting. That's why it's such a ridiculous, but also insidious and dangerous system. Fortunately it's dying out, but it's still alive and well in some settings.

yeah he is northern English, I am Irish. We have very different words for things and sometimes it requires a ‘you said what now?’ even after a long time together. This is just one that continues to befuddle me but I guess that makes sense with the potteries etc. we called plates etc ‘delft’ in our house which is along the same lines.

he says ‘pudding’ to get things back on track. I’ve always said dessert.

I have a ginnel/jitty difference with my friend; we can argue for hours about it.
Then in Guildford, there is a 'Jeffrey's Passage', which as well as being hilarious (I know, child humour!), adds another term

Oh wow I’m going to have to ask my Surrey mates about Jeffrey’s passage!

we have a ginnel. I’d never heard of those before moving to the NW!

Pudding or afters - Hertfordshire

Pudding or afters. We are from all over.