* walt <w41...@gmail.com> [140430 20:43]: > On 04/30/2014 01:47 AM, Peter Humphrey wrote: > > It just annoys me when I'm offered a regular coffee, > > when I would have said standard, or medium (size). It's happened > > particularly > > since our high streets were flooded with Starbucks and the like. > > If someone offered me a "regular" coffee I'd ask for a definition of "regular" > because I wouldn't have a clue what's being offered. > > My impression is that many Merkin words entered the British argot during WWII, > when, indeed, we referred to petrol(gasoline) as "regular" or "leaded", a good > example of our misuse of "regular", and one I'd forgot(ten) about. > > You and Neil both mentioned "regular guy", which I remember hearing most > recently > in a movie about WWII, and not since. > > Our tasteless Merkin TV commercials used the word "regular" for decades to > describe > our ideal bowel habits, so I share your immediate association with that word. > But > I doubt anyone less than thirty years old would remember that era. (Please > let me > know if I'm wrong about that!)
You might want to check the definition for "merkin"...
