"Can I get?"

[Minniemountain]

No DH you can not get cup of coffee because you don't work in this cafe.
He won't change how he asks though

I hate this too!

Meh. It’s an Americanism but language evolves and I can’t get worked up about it. I know others will agree with you tho.

Can I get "Can I just bypass this conversation and get access to coffee/food/whatever by myself?!" Arrrrgh this drives me nuts! I always make a point of saying have... and please!!!

Check out Sean Lock's comedy on this very topic. Hilarious!

Of course you can ‘get’ a cup of coffee. You’re thinking of the meaning of ‘get’ as ‘fetch’, but it also means ‘obtain’ or ‘recieve’, which is what you do.

Thinking the phrase “can I get” means “can I fetch” is a form of over correcting. It’s considered a little impolite compared to “may I have” but it is not grammatically wrong.

Worst example of this I've encountered:

Can I get a toilet?

Meaning May I go to the toilet?

Regional variation, I think.

But doesn’t “get” also mean receive? As in “what did you get for your birthday?”

It’s rude, sounds crap and there is nothing wrong with ‘please may I have...’

As long as you say please, it’s just as polite as ‘Can I have’

I'm with @RustyBear get as in obtain/receive.

Can I get a coffee made and given to me?
Yes I can.

Can I get my coffee without having to specify I'd like it made and given to me since I'm in a coffee shop and that's usually what happens.
Apparently not.

It’s usual in Scotland to say ‘can I get?’ and not considered rude or incorrect.

I always used to say this until my dad (not usually a pedant) called me out on it.
I now say "please may I have..." and I love feeling super polite 😆

I'm Scottish in Scotland. It's considered rude where I am.

I have a tendency to be a bit of a pedant but 'can I get?' doesn't bother me.

I'm sure I read somewhere that this was grammatically correct. Which makes it even more annoying in my book.

If I'm behind someone in a queue who says this , I have to clamp my mouth shut to resist the urge to hiss in their ear , 'have , the word you're looking for is have'

It would be marginally better if people were to say 'can you get me a coffee please ?'

"Can I get" is grammatically correct. The only thing that one can quibble with grammatically in "can I get" is the use of "can" rather than "may." As others have pointed out, the definition of "get" is "to come to have or hold (something); receive". So "can I get" is as correct as "can I have." "Get" does not have some sort of built-in reflexive as so many posters on MN seem to think.

Agree!

Hate myself when I realise having listened to everyone else in the queue saying it I find myself saying it too...
Just been on a mindfulness course handbags resolved to be more mindful when asking for something in the hope that I will not just blindly follow everyone else in the "can I get" way of asking

I hadn't thought about it meaning to receive too. However, DH definitely hasn't either.

Can I get a coffee made and given to me?
Yes I can.

Can I get my coffee without having to specify I'd like it made and given to me since I'm in a coffee shop and that's usually what happens.
Apparently not.

Agree

If I'm behind someone in a queue who says this , I have to clamp my mouth shut to resist the urge to hiss in their ear , 'have , the word you're looking for is have'

And I would hiss right back at you that no, what I said was fine thank you. I wasn't looking for the word have.