This takes the biscuit!

[Lord Jim]

[Lord Jim]

Biscuits:




Cookies:





I don't want to have to explain this again...

[Big RR]

Then you're not allowed to eat any of our biscuits.

I promise I will not eat any biscuits you own.

FWIW, I recall the term "cookie" being used for many similar treats in England; I never completely understood the difference, but think biscuit was used for both sweet and savory harder snacks (in the US we would call the sweets cookies, and the savories crackers generally, but graham crackers are a departure from this), while cookies were softer (and we would still call them cookies). And what we in the US would call biscuits (along the lines Jim illustrated) would be scones (I think). But what do the Brits call the savory treats given to dogs?

[MajGenl.Meade]

Dog biscuits


This sufficiently distinguishes between those and the ones intended for human consumption

What LJ illustrated as "biscuits" would not, anywhere in the world, be "scones", although I see that others appear to be under the same delusion. The illustration is of corn crap - a peculiar U.S. affectation of particular tastelessness.

[Lord Jim]

what we in the US would call biscuits (along the lines Jim illustrated) would be scones (I think).

Not quite...

No one ever broke a tooth biting into a warm, flaky buttermilk biscuit...

The nearest equivalent we have in this country to a scone would be that Civil War delicacy, hardtack:

[Big RR]

Dog, not canine, biscuits? How quaint?

Also, are scones only sweet?

Leaving the "corn crap" alone (and for a country that calls suet based concoctions "(christmas) puddings", I would be careful with the namecalling ), what would the Brits call that sort of thing (that we in the US have called biscuits)? I've seen Bisquick in Tesco, so I presume they are not unknown. I suggested scones because they are similar in texture, but is there another word (like American biscuits)?

[MajGenl.Meade]

Only a moron could break a tooth on these toothsome treats:



Even USians can do a good job, as witnessed by those who've been blessed at the Reynolds Tavern in Annapolis:

Cream Tea
A pot of loose leaf tea and your choice of our homemade scones
(plain, golden raisin, or cranberry orange) with whipped cream
and strawberry preserves.
$8.75 per person.

Yum yum yum

(I shall not comment on the blasphemy of cranberry orange - in a scone!)

[Big RR]

Except fr the jam, those scone pictures look a lot like the pictures Jim posted of biscuits

[Guinevere]

Meade and LJ, you're both wrong. First of all, I have no idea what Meade means by "corn crap" since there is no corn in biscuits. And LJ, scones are not hardtack.

A scone is essentially a lightly sweetened biscuit. A bit heavier (cream instead of buttermilk). But there really is very little difference. Their basic recipe is flour and cold butter, cut together with some leavening and a little liquid to make a short dough that gets flaky and light.

An American scone is usually even sweeter, with more add-ins and flavorings.

[MajGenl.Meade]

Oh right - I was thinking of corn bread. And I suppose corn muffins?

Anyway - cotton wool and gravy, whatever it's supposed to be

[Joe Guy]

Must I always have to explain things to you people?

In order to understand the difference between what we in America call a biscuit and what the British call a biscuit you have to understand the meaning of 'ish'. Ish means kinda like, sorta or somewhere around.

Here's an example - "I'll see you at about 10 O'clockish."

In Britain, they speak British, which means they speak kinda like all people do in Great Britain. They used to call it Great British but then people started getting confused as to whether they were being told they speak British very well or were just being told that they speak British. So they dropped the Great part.

In America we speak English, which means we speak kinda like they do in England, which is not the way they speak all over Great Britain but it's closer to British than those other places. The Scots speak Scottish, the Irelanders speak Irish etc. - which means they speak sorta like the people in the area of Britain that they live.

We speak a different language altogether in America. We use different words to describe things than people do in other parts of the world. A biscuit is a biscuit, it's not a cookie. Over in Britain, a biscuit is a cookie because that's the word they use to describe what Americans call a cookie.

If you went to Mexico and were going to cook some eggs and asked "Can I have a pan?" some Mexican would hand you a piece of bread (which, incidentally, is in the American biscuit family but is nothing like a biscuit).

Do you get it now?

[MajGenl.Meade]

Joe, if your talent isn't wasted, it should be.

[Gob]

A scone is essentially a lightly sweetened biscuit..

No!! A scone is a scone, a biscuit is a biscuit!!!!!

The name "Devonshire tea" comes from the county of Devon in England. The exact origin of "cream tea" is disputed, although there is evidence to suggest that the tradition of eating bread with cream and jam already existed at Tavistock Abbey in Devon in the 11th century

[dales]

two countries separated by a common language

[Lord Jim]

No!! A scone is a scone, a biscuit is a biscuit!!!!!

And a cookie is a cookie!!!

[Econoline]

And a horse is a horse! Of course! Of course!