Please stop saying "it's been a minute"

[OptimismvsRealism]

Please stop

Also mooching stop saying that

Never heard anyone say it’s been a minute.

I disagree @MrsPelligrinoPetrichor ( I do like your name by the way)

It is neither traditional nor respectful for the reasons I explained in my last post.

Why, why can it possibly offend someone to say ' I am so sorry your mother has died'? Or ' I am so sorry to hear of the death of your mother'. It is just baffling.

But, it is macaroni and cheese, isn't it?
Macaroni cheese sounds like you're listing ingredients, but stopped mid-sentence. 😂
It's funny how these things drive us nuts, though. ☺️

Is it also cauliflower and cheese then?

Had to Google that dish, but have seen it mentioned on MN before. Typically served at Christmas, right?
I definitely concede in the UK "and" is omitted in macaroni and cheese and your "cauliflower cheese " dish. It does sound odd though. ie. is it a type of cheese tasting like cauliflower? 😂
Do you Brits not like "and"? 🤔
I'd be curious which Canadian phrases confound and possible annoy. 😄

We've always traditionally said, Thank you very much.
I remember when first hearing, Thanks so much, here it sounded insincere and affected! It's now commonly used with emphasis on "so" and expresses quite sincere gratitude. 🤷‍♀️☺️

I agree completely with what @Words says about "passed". It's is died. Passed sounds like you're frightened of death or saying it. Any anyway, where do they pass to? Not everyone is religious. I wince at that word.

@MrsPelligrinoPetrichor Passed isn't traditional. I never heard it until my mid years.

I serve it with anything I can get away with 😂 I'm actually having it tonight with bangers and mash. That's sausages BTW 😂

I do get what you mean though. Cheesy macaroni/cauliflower would probably make more sense.

Passed away is commonly used in Canada. "Died" sounds a bit harsh depending on context, tone and audience.

No cauliflower cheese is a staple. Can be eaten on its own or with practically anything else. Not a traditional Christmas dish though it does go well with roast meat.

I found a recipe using roasted cauliflower that looks delicious! 😛
Cauliflower with cheese sauce is a known dish here, very 80's//90's, but known. If I remember, it would be boiled cauliflower put into a buttered baking dish, cheese sauce overtop then breadcrumbs and baked.

Why is 'died' harsh though?( sorry to harp on)

There is nothing 'harsher' than the death of someone close to you. When someone dies, the worst has already happened. Sugar coating it is, as I have said, somewhat insulting.

I am beginning to think the use of these silly euphemisms is more to do with protecting the speaker's feelings - masking their own fears maybe- rather than being truly sensitive to those of the bereaved person.

I detest 'passed'. When DM died, the copper who visited me to break the news said she 'passed away'. Being crushed to death by a Merc Sprinter is NOT 'passing'!

I get where you're coming from. Yes, I think it's softer.
I think in conversation with you I would equally say,
Sally's mum passed away last night.
Sally's mum died last night.

But, to Sally: I'm sorry your mum passed away.

By that theory, it should be macaroni and cheese sauce then 🤣 or macaroni and gross cheese powder if you're American or Canadian, not that that stuff deserves to be called macaroni cheese 🤢

Here, macaroni and cheese from a box is called, KD.
It's short for Kraft Dinner, the brand. Macaroni and cheese, would be pasta with cheese/cheese sauce you've made.
I was tired, so made a box of KD for the kids and went to bed.
I made macaroni and cheese with breadcrumbs on top and it was delicious!

I have noticed "mac and cheese" being thrown about, but that sounds quite American despite what is written on Wikipedia. It isn't the term I ever heard growing up unless on tv commercials and those were American.

All this talk about comfort foot has got me thinking I should make some!!!

Kids just had macaroni cheese for dinner, not macaroni and cheese 😜

Ours is just the cheese sauce on cauliflower generally... but yours sounds equally as good! A bit of paprika sprinkled on top works well too 😋

I would probably say "so sorry to hear about your mum, Sally" and avoid mentioning any word directly relating to the actual event!

I have no issue with it but I understand people using those phrases as they're so traditional. My DH would never say died ,always passed. I would say either depending on who I was speaking to.

I remember my grandmother explaining what it meant to me when I was a child and I'm mid 50s now. I suppose it depends on location/ religion.

I already have 😁 Originated in England (and Italy) definitely not North America, so macaroni AND cheese is just yet another stupid Americanism that's made its way over here 😤

Perhaps they got it from the Italians who immigrated.

Is it really necessary to bash a country’s use of language and call it stupid as if adding the word “and” is such a controversy? Language changes all the time and most of American English is a mix of different languages including English words thanks to settlers and immigrants from different countries. Canada uses “and” or were you referring to North America as a whole when you called it a stupid Americanism?

Exactly @RobertaFirmino

Don’t use gross cheese powder. It was made from scratch by my aunts when I was a child, and I make it from scratch for my children.

My mum would buy the boxed stuff because she didn’t have the time to make it. No different than people buying the Batchelors pasta and sauce.

Gross cheese powder?