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IANBU: it’s holdover cringe because of outdated ideas about meat and masculinity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

Oops, then @randomchap said my essay much more succinctly

Some people on MN will judge on pretty much everything. You even mention The M Word and people will pile on talking about how it's probably all made from horse meat and plastic and they would never ever dream of going within a miles radius of one and anyone who has ever even sniffed a mcnugget is the reason we have an obesity crisis in this country.

I remember that McDonalds advert, but not the "fillet o' fish for my wife bit", I remember the "cup o' char" and "2, no make it 3" bits. Strange what you remember.

Where did anyone mention a universal standard of cringe? Literally the whole point of the thread was to find out why some people think the Filet o'Fish is cringe. I've seen in a few places (including in this thread) that lots of people do and I just wanted to know why. It clearly doesn't seem particularly cringe to me or I wouldn't have needed to post the thread! Enjoy punching your straw man though.

@Talipesmum The pronunciation is because Americans pronounce filet closer to the French way, fill-lay, not fill-it.

I refuse to call it that, but I do eat them quite a bit. The bun is steamed and they are often fresher than the meat burgers (which are vile). I think maybe if you were to snog someone after they'd eaten it it would be gross...other than that I'd say it's amazing. Love the half cheese slice. Just the right amount! haha.

My mum always orders one because it is healthier it's not and she couldn't possibly eat a dreadful McDonald's burger. She also asks for cutlery to the extreme embarrassment of my kids!

I love a Filet!
I make my own at home on a brioche bun with 3 Birds Eye battered fish fingers, a slice of plastic cheese, dollop of mayo and gherkin slices. Served with McCain home fries I reckon it's at least as good as a Maccies!

This was the first thing that I ate as a teenager on holiday in the USA, vegetarian, so limited choices at that time. I think that they were called “fish-wich” then, thats how I still refer to them anyway. Had one yesterday in fact and still enjoy them (although they seem to have shrunk over time)

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.

Agree. It’s not a wanky faux French pronunciation, it’s an American pronunciation, which is entirely in keeping with McDonald’s.

Best thing on the menu though.

"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."

This seems so extreme!! Why? D:
And why apologise at the counter?!

Also fwiw, FoF is vastly different from fish and chips, entirely different "moods" iykwim 😅

I think this is said in jest. If not... are you ok? You don't seem ok.

When I was at Uni you would get a free cheese burger with your NUS card I used to order a McChicken Sandwich and then say that I didn’t eat red meat so I’d get a fillet o’ fish as my freebie.
Always felt I was getting more 😆

I'd have hoped so, but the big paragraph beforehand didn't give me those vibes so had to check!
Perhaps I've read too much into the full stops! 😂

Grow up, I beg of you...

Wow. Ok...

@HoppingPavlova @thatsjustthewayitisok I also enjoyed this story. Young wanker 🤣

Imagine worrying that your choice of fast food was unfashionable. What a world we live in.

I worked in McDonalds when I was at university in the 80s and the staff got an hourly food (£) allowance. They’d worked out that the Fillet o’Fish was the best nutrition to price ratio, followed by the Big Mac. I also used to get a vanilla milk shake as it was full fat Irish milk. It meant I did very little food shopping!

I like them and the steamed bun is strangely satisfying. In my day they were often made to order and there was a special prep station. Now there seem to be a lot of “keep warm” areas.

AFAIK it was invented so American Catholics could go to McDonalds on a Friday.

The French pronunciation (and spelling) of filet is also the bog standard American pronunciation.

But you'll always get a fresh one! LONG LIVE THE FILET O FISH - DELICIOUS.

True, but for an English person, it’s more reminiscent of a French pronunciation. And pronouncing food the “French” way is typically, stereotypically associated with it being “fancy” (I don’t mean really truly and sensibly, but very much in a comedy stereotype way). And McDonald’s is pretty much the opposite of fancy, so that’s another perceived clash. Also, the o’ is more reminiscent of Gaelic, which I don’t tend to pair alongside French.

So for me the juxtaposition seems odd - quite possibly it doesn’t seem odd at all for Americans. But I’m not sure whether many Americans are saying it “sounds cringe”.

I'd like to believe you wrote that in great haste without considering the implications wrt Gaelic and the place of the culture of Scotland and Ireland in your mental hierarchy.

McDonald's is an American chain and it stands to reason that the names of its offerings are American and nothing to do with France. Even the French fries have nothing to do with France, and the quarter pounder wouldn't sound the same in metric.

I love a filet! It was always my go to order - they're nearly always cooked fresh which is much better. (I always used to ask for extra cheese so I got a full slice instead of half).
I haven't had one for years though because there are zero GF burger options in the UK (unlike other countries).
I always used to enjoy the way DH ordered it at the drive thru - Fillaaaaay O'Fish. Like it's an Irish man called Mr F. O'Fish. 😁