Bag v.s. Sack

<<Well, we have dairies, Rick, but we keep cows in them. ;)>>

Same in Britain! If you visit a dairy for groceries, some nice doctors will give you a jacket with lots of straps and your own padded cell.

<< I would call the woman serving you "the bird at the till"! >>

LOL. I can't get over all those English birds. Do they fly?

<<at least to me, "supermarket" sounds more like a marketing-type term rather than a term that I actually hear people in Real Life use much. >>

Travis, We use it all the time on the east coast, well at least where I've lived. But I agree it does sound like a marketing term and probably started out that way. Did you notice Rick said, in England department stores are often called Maga stores or shops. I can't picture a Mega shop as I always think of shops as little places. But "Mega" is a marketing term used here that hasn't caught on in everyday usage. "Super" apparently has if only in the places where mjd and I've lived.

<<Super" apparently has if only in the places where mjd and I've lived.>>

Caught on in my little corners of paradise. All four of them: Miami, FL, Boston, MA, Manchester, NH and the San Francisco Bay Area, CA. Or at least no one looked at me strangely when I said "supermarket". I've used "grocery store" too, probably less then "supermarket" but it doesn't sound strange to me.

<<Did you notice Rick said, in England department stores are often called Maga stores or shops. I can't picture a Mega shop as I always think of shops as little places.>>

It was actually someone under the guise of "guest" that said it, but I agree with your point that shops are small. I would call a larger shop a store personally.

In order of size smallest to largest

shop....store.....supermarket.....department store

<<In order of size smallest to largest

shop....store.....supermarket.....department store>>

Now I diffferentiate between department store and supermarket. In my mind they're completely different. A supermarket always sells food, like Winn Dixie. A department store sells non-food items like clothes, jewelry and household goods, like dishes, a place like Macy's. Although of course the super Wal-Marts exist, and they carry both food and non-food items, but I suppose I just think of Wal-Mart as an overgrown junk shop.

I do call the smallest shops, well, shops and store would be next up for me too.

I too strongly distinguish between supermarkets and department stores, for the reasons that Terry set out above. And yes, Wal-Mart *is* an overgrown junk shop IMNSHO.

<<I too strongly distinguish between supermarkets and department stores, for the reasons that Terry set out above. And yes, Wal-Mart *is* an overgrown junk shop IMNSHO.>>

Ah, finally Bston and Milwaukee agree on something! :)

Walmart LOL pssssh you think thats a junk shop? Try our British version Tesso.. Walmart would be the posh version of Tesso.

Sometimes I think you Americans can take abit too much for granted =P

Tesco, not Tesso.

<<Walmart LOL pssssh you think thats a junk shop? Try our British version Tesso.. Walmart would be the posh version of Tesso.

Sometimes I think you Americans can take abit too much for granted >>

Wal-Mart? Posh? You can't be serious.

That Tesso place must really suck... here a bag is a bag, a sack is a very large, rectangularish paper bag you use to carry home your purchases from Macy's or Marshall Field's. And by the way, the vowel in those two words is different.

I think for me, a sack would have to be made of cloth.

Same as Lazar. Definitely made of cloth... usually large.

<<Same as Lazar. Definitely made of cloth... usually large. >>

I'm with Tiffany and Lazar on this. I think of the paper and plastic bags they give out in the stores as "bags." When I think of "sack" I think, a big cloth bag, like a sack of feed.