…to ask why the Filet o’Fish is a mark of cringe?

[girljulian]

Lighthearted, but I read on a recent “ick” thread that someone was at McDonald’s with a man and he ordered a Filet o’Fish, which killed her attraction to him. This reminded me of an old video I saw of Benedict Cumberbatch doing a fond impression of Tom Hiddleston in which he had him order “a Filet o’Fish, if you still do those.” I am getting the impression that ordering a Filet o’Fish is peak cringe, but googling “what is so uncool about the Filet o’Fish” is getting me nowhere.

Someone explain the lore to me??

The only thing I could come up with myself was that maybe it’s a holdover from a time when many vegetarians ate fish and vegetarianism was also considered unmasculine, so ordering one indicates that you’re an effeminate vegetarian; and/or simply it’s cringe because it’s “unmanly” not to eat red meat. Is that it??

IANBU: it’s holdover cringe because of outdated ideas about meat and masculinity

IABU: you’re about to tell me the real mysterious reason

I love them! Always order with the full slice of cheese though instead of half, and extra lettuce. I like that they're always cooked fresh for you too instead of sitting around on a hot shelf like the rest of the burgers.

Filets forever! 😁

Icks are a law unto themselves. They cannot be explained 😂

I like fish but not from Maccies -and he name of it is really wanky.

Was my favourite to order!!

thats hilario9us
a type pf ache

filet of fish

One of the few things at MCD I actually like

I've long said they should rebrand them here to their European title which is 'Fish Mac'. I think that sounds cooler!

I’ve only ever had Filet o’ Fish in America. It’s decent, and my favourite thing by far on the McD’s mains menu. Everything about McD’s is naff. Why single this out?

Luckily I have only needed chips from British McD’s (and they are very tasty IMO), so I can’t say whether a British Filet o’ Fish is as good as an American one. But I just checked the UK McD’s site to look at the spelling, which is American/ French. This explains the pronunciation.

I have this too with the fish thingy form mcdonalds (can't bring myself to tupe the name) The product just gives me the ick, never tried it

A filet of fish?

It's what I always order! It's the best thing they do ( and I love a fish finger sandwich too)

I love them too....i had one in Lakeside Shopping Centre just before Xmas...was fuming to discover that my bun had no cheese slice and no tartare sauce inside it...I took it back and got it rectified.

I had one last several years ago. I asked for the fish burger (not a McD’s regular and couldn’t remember what it was called). The young wanker at the counter kept making out they didn’t know what I was talking about, and I’m asking, do you not do the fish burger anymore etc. Then they said ‘oh do you mean the Fillet O Fish?’. I’m like ‘if that’s the fish burger, then yes’. They said ‘I’m just trying to make sure you get the right burger’ and I asked ‘how many fish burgers do you have’ and they said ‘just the Fillet O Fish’. Absolute little wanker🤯.

i dont say filet like im in france it sounds wanky

I just want you to know that I really enjoyed that story and the way you told it, thank you.

I know this, but in the 1960s many "vegetarians" i.e. people who called themselves vegetarian ate fish. I once read an article about a swish London restaurant which particularly made sure always to have fish because George Harrison and his wife, who were (so said the article) "vegetarian", liked it.

People are wary of those who order the "filet o' fish" because people who do them are behaving outside of social norms. The point of going to McDonald's for food is to eat a beef burger or possibly chicken nuggets, if you order something else you're behaving contrary to normal accepted standards. If you don't want a beef burger, you don't want a McDonald's.

The "pecking order" would be beef burger (normal), chicken nuggets (OK for kids), vegetarian stuff (weird you'd go to McDonald's but O...K.....). Ordering the Filet-o-Fish is plain weird. If you want fish, go to a chip shop.

I wouldn't call someone out if they ordered it but I wouldn't be going back with them. Equally if I was picking up a group order and someone couldn't be talked out of it I'd probably agree to buy it for them but would apologise at the counter.

To be fair they are probably taught that in McD brainwashing school - like when they had to correct your order of "coke" to "McDonalds Cola" because obviously if they didn't, lawyers in California or New York were going to sue you for misuse of their trademark in Runcorn.

Totally agree

I pretty much always order a chicken burger of some kind, where does that rank?

Just buy what you want. Judging someone over their McDonald's order seems so completely pathetic.

I like them but haven't had one in years. They were tiny though, you'd need at least 4 to feel like you'd had a normal sized burger.

That’s just how Americans pronounce fillet in all situations, not just at McDonalds. It’s not nearly as annoying as the way they say ‘erbs.

Never had a filet o’ fish personally as I’ve been a vegetarian since 1985. Tbh, going to McDonalds on a date and ordering anything would give me the ick.

This!

he ordered a Filet o’Fish, which killed her attraction to him.

Am I seriously the only person on this thread (or maybe even this board, oh, h*ll, the whole internet) who doesn't understand how something can be considered universally 'cringe'.

I'm with you as far as getting to know someone and finding out whether your tastes are compatible. If he orders something she isn't keen on, fair enough that that might kill attraction.

It's a bit of a step from there to suggest that there is some universally understood cultural standard that what he did was somehow wrong. As this thread shows some like it, some don't. As we would expect. If they had fallen out of favour with everyone, they would no longer be sold by a fast food outlet.

Maybe this is just the nerd in me but really, a universal standard for 'cringe'. That's seems Pretty cringe right there to me.