Butter knife

[audball]

Very interesting! We call it a butter knife.

We have a knife block that holds steak knives, paring knife, carving knives, etc. But the ones that come with spoons and forks in a flatware set? That's a butter knife to me

I should have asked people where they were raised....it might make for an interesting geographical discussion...sort of like the soda/pop/coke thing.

True! I'm from the South.

 

[amc80]

Very interesting! We call it a butter knife.

We have a knife block that holds steak knives, paring knife, carving knives, etc. But the ones that come with spoons and forks in a flatware set? That's a butter knife to me

I should have asked people where they were raised....it might make for an interesting geographical discussion...sort of like the soda/pop/coke thing.

True! I'm from the South.

Do you refer to all fizzy drinks as coke?

 

[mogster]

I live in CA and call it (and have only ever heard it been called) butter knife. I can't think of any other use for it other than spreading butter on bread at restaurants. I use a steak knife for steak and everything else is soft enough to break apart and eat without a knife.

 

[packrat]

The knives that come w/sets of silverware, we call a butter knife. We are..a common folk here. When we have something for supper that may require butter, like if we have biscuits or potatoes, we stick the tub of Country Crock on the table and have at it. We use paper towels and just one fork and/or spoon..we're not familiar w/the fancier things. What we call a butter knife is also used to spread butter on bread/toast and also jam and peanut butter and to cut the kids' sandwiches. It's not good for much else. If we need to cut something like steak or whatever, we use a (be prepared to be amazed and astounded by our culinary smarts) a "sharp knife". "Hand me a knife" will get you "what kind, butter knife or sharp knife?"

 

[Enerchi]

The knives that come w/sets of silverware, we call a butter knife. We are..a common folk here. When we have something for supper that may require butter, like if we have biscuits or potatoes, we stick the tub of Country Crock on the table and have at it. We use paper towels and just one fork and/or spoon..we're not familiar w/the fancier things. What we call a butter knife is also used to spread butter on bread/toast and also jam and peanut butter and to cut the kids' sandwiches. It's not good for much else. If we need to cut something like steak or whatever, we use a (be prepared to be amazed and astounded by our culinary smarts) a "sharp knife". "Hand me a knife" will get you "what kind, butter knife or sharp knife?"

This is a hilarious post, packrat!!!

 

[audball]

The knives that come w/sets of silverware, we call a butter knife. We are..a common folk here. When we have something for supper that may require butter, like if we have biscuits or potatoes, we stick the tub of Country Crock on the table and have at it. We use paper towels and just one fork and/or spoon..we're not familiar w/the fancier things. What we call a butter knife is also used to spread butter on bread/toast and also jam and peanut butter and to cut the kids' sandwiches. It's not good for much else. If we need to cut something like steak or whatever, we use a (be prepared to be amazed and astounded by our culinary smarts) a "sharp knife". "Hand me a knife" will get you "what kind, butter knife or sharp knife?"

THIS!

 

[audball]

Very interesting! We call it a butter knife.

We have a knife block that holds steak knives, paring knife, carving knives, etc. But the ones that come with spoons and forks in a flatware set? That's a butter knife to me

I should have asked people where they were raised....it might make for an interesting geographical discussion...sort of like the soda/pop/coke thing.

True! I'm from the South.

Do you refer to all fizzy drinks as coke?

Probably surprisingly, no. We call it soda. But I'm kind of from the fake south. Florida. Which funnily enough is further south than the "southern states" and yet it's got so many people who come down from the NE that there is quite a mix in the references around here.

 

[junebug17]

The knives that come w/sets of silverware, we call a butter knife. We are..a common folk here. When we have something for supper that may require butter, like if we have biscuits or potatoes, we stick the tub of Country Crock on the table and have at it. We use paper towels and just one fork and/or spoon..we're not familiar w/the fancier things. What we call a butter knife is also used to spread butter on bread/toast and also jam and peanut butter and to cut the kids' sandwiches. It's not good for much else. If we need to cut something like steak or whatever, we use a (be prepared to be amazed and astounded by our culinary smarts) a "sharp knife". "Hand me a knife" will get you "what kind, butter knife or sharp knife?"

Packrat, this is too funny! And we call them sharp knives too!

 

[merilenda]

I would love to see the regional correlation to this as well!

I'm very interested in dialects. I guess I normally just call it a knife, but if I was asked to qualify, I'd call it a butter knife. Not sure why. I know I've never used the terms dinner knife or table knife. I was born and raised in the Midwest.

 

[AGBF]

Packrat's posting was very well written and funny...but this thread has actually been educational for me. I realized that hours ago after making some pronouncement about the correct names for knives. It's like the old discussion about whether bad grammar should be tolerated since language naturally evolves or whether grammatical standards should be upheld better to preserve clarity in the language. Does one look at this as a "right or wrong" or does he look at it as a fascinating cultural phenomenon that came to light?

While I was busy worrying about other people knowing the correct names for knives, I almost missed the beautiful diversity in language that exists in the United States. I pay attention to language and read a lot, yet this is the first time that I learned that some people in some regions call the general knife one uses at the table a, "butter knife". That is a beautiful thing to have learned today...at least for someone who loves words as I do!

Deb/AGBF