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[Rogin the Armchair fan]

"Unexploded bomb". As in "unexploded WWII bomb found in Manchester", according to local headlines today.

Well it would be unexploded, wouldn't it? If it had exploded, it would have been a lot easier to find, but would no longer really be a bomb anymore, would it?

[caja-dglh]

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It differentiates between a bomb that is meant to blow up right now vs a bomb that has basically been sat there for 50 years doing nothing it was meant to.

[Dalef65]

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Of all the bombs that were dropped in WW2,I wonder what was the rough percentage that didnt explode..?

[Crusoe]

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Up to 15% of bombs dropped on Berlin, according to quick a Google search (and resulting Vice article). Difficult to be remotely accurate I'd guess, as the people counting the unexploded ones are different to the ones who decided how many to drop.

[Dalef65]

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Quite..
And you would also have to factor in that some dropped bombs wouldnt have exploded but only do so after being set off by others.

[Lucia Lanigan]

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It's a compound, but "pan-fried". I know some things are deep-fried, or perhaps fried in a hairnet, but "fried" already means "pan-fried" (unless in relation to drug-frazzled mental states). Fuck "pan-fried" and its talking up the simplest way of cooking summat. And its making every entry in a menu three lines long. And its making me throw a bearded cyclist through a Hackney eaterie window and getting done for "disturbing the peace". Disturbing the smugtitude, more like. Your honour.

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

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Don't get me started on "designer". Virtually everything is designed by someone, somewhere, so up yours if you think one "designer" deserves the label any more than another.

Similar to "hand-made" when applied to any product that can't be made wholly by machines. Even worse when applied to products that clearly HAVE been at least part-made by machines, like pottery. Let's see you "hand-make" that from a lump of clay without a potter's wheel or a kiln, you self-proclaimed artisan cunt.

[Crusoe]

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Hand-cooked may not be entirely redundant, but certainly seems to be wrongly used a lot. I don't believe any product at a major supermarket chain can be 'hand-cooked' in the spirit of how that phrase is usually meant.

[Lucia Lanigan]

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Warm hands.

[EIM]

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Lucia Lanigan wrote: It's a compound, but "pan-fried". I know some things are deep-fried, or perhaps fried in a hairnet, but "fried" already means "pan-fried" (unless in relation to drug-frazzled mental states). Fuck "pan-fried" and its talking up the simplest way of cooking summat. And its making every entry in a menu three lines long. And its making me throw a bearded cyclist through a Hackney eatery window and getting done for "disturbing the peace". Disturbing the smugtitude, more like. Your honour.

What about deep-frying, stir-frying or shallow-frying? They're all different techniques.

[Lucia Lanigan]

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Shallow frying is just frying - it happens in a frying pan.

Stir frying implies that something's been chopped small and stirred around with other stuff - it's a particular exception so needs specifying.

Deep-frying is another particular exception, so worth stating when it's what's happening.

The default expectation of "fried" is that something's been fried in a pan. No need to tell us that, no need at all.

[Lucia Lanigan]

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Also, what are chips fried in at home? A pan, that's what. The TMI we're being fed like battery chickens these days is creating neurotic expectation: you could easily be gripped with fear at not knowing what something's been fried in now the "pan-" has been thrown into the arena.

Next time I'm in one of these places I'm going to ask what sort of pan their pan-fried wares were fried in. And they'll have to tell me it was a frying pan. And I'll point out that it should say "Frying-pan-fried". And they'll just carry on, and perhaps wank into my eggs.

[EIM]

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Lucia Lanigan wrote: Shallow frying is just frying - it happens in a frying pan.

Stir frying implies that something's been chopped small and stirred around with other stuff - it's a particular exception so needs specifying.

Deep-frying is another particular exception, so worth stating when it's what's happening.

The default expectation of "fried" is that something's been fried in a pan. No need to tell us that, no need at all.

The heat comes from the pan, not the oil. So it's pan-fried.

I dunno why I'm arguing this. I neither care nor really disagree with you.

[Lucia Lanigan]

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So put "Frying-pan-fried in some oil, like you already guessed" on the menu, then. That would be quite good.

[EIM]

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There's a science to menu writing. A formula, almost. I can't really remember it, but there are certain rules you have to stick to. It's all very silly.

[San Bernardhinault]

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Similar to "pan fried" I also get bothered by "oven roasted". Unless you specifically say otherwise, I think everyone assumes that "roasted" means "oven roasted".

[Various Artist]

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It could be worse Lucia: 'artisan' crisps/chips, for instance, are invariably made from "hand-selected" potatoes – as opposed to what: mouth-selected? Foot-selected? Dog-selected? Then they're "lovingly kettle-fried in batches" or something. Since it seems to produce such a good result I tried kettle-frying some bacon and eggs at home once, with devastating results, and which completely invalidated the warranty according to those spoilsports at Morphy Richards.

[Crusoe]

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I read an article months ago about tips and tricks in menu writing (living on the edge, me) and just went looking for it. Can't find it but did find this: apparently someone's researched into how to present prices.

http://scholarship.sha.cornell.edu/chrpubs/169/

[Crusoe]

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Might've been this one:

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2009/12/23/dining/23menus.html?referer=

[DCI Harry Batt]

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"pan-fried" is shit, that is fact.

[Fussbudget]

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Rogin the Armchair Fan wrote: Don't get me started on "designer". Virtually everything is designed by someone, somewhere, so up yours if you think one "designer" deserves the label any more than another.

It's not an adjective, though. You might want to change your thread title to 'redundant qualifiers' if you're going to be so lax.

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

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Oh, it's used as an adjective, now, though isn't it? "Designer handbag". "Designer toaster". "Designer kitchen"?

[Lucia Lanigan]

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International Velvet Human wrote: It could be worse Lucia: 'artisan' crisps/chips, for instance, are invariably made from "hand-selected" potatoes – as opposed to what: mouth-selected? Foot-selected? Dog-selected? Then they're "lovingly kettle-fried in batches" or something. Since it seems to produce such a good result I tried kettle-frying some bacon and eggs at home once, with devastating results, and which completely invalidated the warranty according to those spoilsports at Morphy Richards.

I hear you, brother. What the hell business has a kettle got frying anything anyway? I bet it's something Victorian (accurate - that's what they call it) Americans used to make "chips". That doesn't make something better, just older. It's still just a salt and fat delivery system, pretty close to what the good people at Walkers use.

And all this "artisan" shit. Is that supposed to be good? Cobblers. Artisanal cobblers using pulled leather and zinc-tipped nails, or something.

[ursus arctos]

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Kettle Chips

Neither Kettle nor Chips from a UK perspective.

Not Kettle from a US perspective, either.

[Lucia Lanigan]

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Christ. It's "old" though innit. Artisanal and authentic and shit.