No particular question here, just something that struck me as interesting after I had done it.

Today's Calvin and Hobbes strip has the punch line "Although in pinch a PBJ will do."

I have never seen the abbreviation PBJ before and it took me about ten seconds to work it out. (Assumuming that I'm right and that it means "peanut butter and jelly".)

My thought process went something like

* brand name? probably not
* analogous with BLT? Possibly in form
* What kind of sandwich?
* Ah, American strip!
* Peanut butter and jelly

What interested me was the way thet I could worl it out from the context and by analogy EVEN THOUGH peanut butter is an extremely minority product over here and we don't even use the word "jelly" with this meaning.

Obviously I've heard the phrase on US TV but no British kid would ever ask for "peanut butter and jelly" let alone a "PBJ".

Not greatly significant, I know. But it interested me.

I think it would have taken me longer than Bob's ten seconds to work out. I'd never heard the initialism before, either, although I had probably heard of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich before from TV. If I'd bothered I'd have possibly looked it up using OneLook and Acronym Finder.

quote:

Originally posted by BobHale:
... no British kid would ever ask for "peanut butter and jelly" let alone a "PBJ".

No PBJ? Now that's a deprived childhood!

quote:

Originally posted by tinman:

quote:

Originally posted by BobHale:
... no British kid would ever ask for "peanut butter and jelly" let alone a "PBJ".

No PBJ? Now that's a deprived childhood!

I had never realised how fortunate I was to be so deprived

I can remember my mother getting a jar of peanut butter as an experiment when I'd have been about ten. No-one in the family (mother, father, two sons and daughter) liked it.

That's probably because you had Cowpat chemical sludge peanut butter. British peanut butters are, unfortunately, bland and tasteless. You have to use real hand-pressed organic spiced peanut butter for true peanut-buttery enjoyment.

Ah, yes, neveu, with strawberry preserves and on 9 grain bread...with a glass of milk. It's delicious and quite healthy.

It's a very common acronym over here, though many say "PB&J."

Calvin and Hobbs used to be in the Chicago Tribune, but it stopped when we were told the wrter was taking a hiatus. Has it been around all along? It's delightful because it brings back one's childhood.

My wife's aunt has a reputation in the family for being an excellent cook. I mentioned this to her daughter once, and she said "I don't know...I had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch just like every other kid", to which my wife replied "Yeah, Julie, but it was homemade peanut butter and homemade preserves on homemade bread".

That just makes my mouth water...

Unless I am mistaken, US jelly is what we would call jam. Our jelly is what Americans call Jello.

So a PBJ to us would be "peanut butter and jam". But I've still not tried it nor did I know the initialism.

PB&J can be jelly, jam or preserves. I certainly prefer preserves, fresh if possible.

Who'd have thunk it. An actual article about PB&J, and it was pretty factual as well. For example, did you know that the Kellogg brothers received a patent for peanut butter in 1895? Or that Washington Carver, a scientist from the Tuskegee Institute, promoted the peanut as a depleted soil restorer, coming up with hundreds of uses to entice farmers to raise it?

This fact, though, surprised me. While I understand that PB&J is the #1 sandwich choice for children (presumably in the U.S.), I was surprised to read that it is also the #1 sandwich for men, women and children who eat sandwiches at home.

And there's more! The three top tasting peanut butters in a "Battle of the Brands" were: Smucker's Natural, 365 Organic, and Skippy. What happened to Jiffy and Peter Pan?

We Americans do love our PB&J!