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credoquaabsurdum (credoquaabsurdum@yahoo.com) 2005/05/16 17:26

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From: "credoquaabsurdum" <credoquaabsurdum@yahoo.com>
Newsgroups: alt.languages.english
Subject: Straight or neat?
Date: 16 May 2005 16:26:02 -0700
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I met a Greek yesterday who insisted that in the UK, no one drinks
their Scotch "neat." The term is American in origin. All Britons say
"straight" when they order whisk(e)y unadulterated by ice or mixers.


Now, my Greek acquaintance was wrong regarding word origins, and is,
moreover, only a slight Lechterianesque cut away from the intelligence
level of a cretinous goon, but since I've never been to the UK, I must
ask.


Have Britons retained the term "neat" as well? I sincerely doubt that
this fellow ordered other rotgut spirits in the more questionable
establishments of London, but is the term "straight" more generally
current than "neat" in Great Britain?


I worked as a part-time bartender (or is that always barman/bargirl?
(I've heard that too!)) on my way through college, so I'm particularly
interested in the answer to this question.


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