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Following on from my previous post on names for plimsolls, attention now turns to what we Brits call the humble bread roll.

As I suspected, there’s a far greater variety of names for bread rolls than there is for elasticated footwear. But I wasn’t prepared for quite how many…

Origin of the bread roll

A roll is a small – usually round – loaf of bread. It’s believed that the first roll was created in the south east of England in 1581.

Bakers in different towns and cities used to name their bread rolls according to how they made the dough, the size of the rolls and how they baked them. Over time, however, these differences merged. As a result, many similar products are now grouped under one name.

Although universally recognised throughout Britain, the word roll is somewhat generic: it doesn’t explain the type of roll being referred to. So additional words are sometimes used to describe the shape and/or texture, for example:

Bulkie roll – a crusty roll

Dinner roll – a small, crusty roll

Finger roll – a soft, long roll (ideal for hot dogs)

Kaiser roll / Vienna roll – a crusty round roll with four points meeting in the centre

Geographical variations

According to Jonnie Robinson, a curator at the British Library who specialises in accents and dialects: “Bread was historically a generic term for any baked item and ‘cake’ and ‘loaf’ originally referred to the shape of that ‘bread’, with ‘cake’ usually being smaller and ‘loaf’ meaning ‘large bread’. There are numerous words for ‘bread roll’ in use around the country and this explains why some include the word ‘cake’.

It’s great to see so many of these historic and regional terms still in use and I hope bakers around the country continue to help preserve these local distinctions.

Go into any bakery or café today and try to order a cheese roll. Or a bacon roll. If you don’t use the correct local term, there’s a good chance you’ll be corrected or even given the wrong item. I’d certainly never heard of a batch before until I came to nearby Coventry as a student.

Different names for bread rolls

My original intention when starting to write this post was to list the popular names for bread rolls by region. Or even to include a map. But online reference sources vary so much that I decided that was just asking for trouble!

A recent tweet I spotted highlighted this very conundrum:

The ensuing replies threw up multiple conflicting opinions from all corners of the UK and further afield (including the fact that most people refer to the image shown here as a chip butty).

So instead I thought I’d present an alphabetical list of the 21 variants I’ve found so far:

Bap

Bara

Barm/Barm cake

Batch

Bin lid

Breadcake

Bridie

Bun

Buttery

Cob

Lardy cake

Morning roll

Muffin

Nudger

Oggie

Oven bottom

Rowie

Scuffler

Softie

Stotty/Stottie cake

Teacake

If you’re interested in delving further into lexical variations for bread, you might like to check out this mapping project by Linguistics and English Language undergrad students at The University of Manchester.

Over to you

What do you call bread rolls where you live? And is that different from where you grew up?

I very much doubt if the above list is definitive, so if you have any additional names for bread rolls please do let me know in the comments below.

(Image courtesy of sritangphoto via Freedigitalphotos.net)

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A self-confessed word nerd and grammar geek, I’ve been fascinated by words and language for as long as I can remember.

Add being half German into the mix, and a Modern Languages degree was an obvious choice. This led to a short conversion course in Export Marketing.

But after graduating I didn’t set up my stall as a freelance copywriter straightaway.

Instead I cut my professional teeth in various in-house international sales and marketing roles for some blue-chip companies in the Midlands. Along the way I took the CIM Diploma in Marketing, which reinforced the hands-on commercial experience I’d gained.

All of which meant I learnt not only what to say but also how to say it to maximum effect. This has proven invaluable in my role as a freelance copywriter over the past two decades.

As you can see from the testimonials, I’m a skilled wordsmith – creative, versatile and conscientious with meticulous attention to detail. I pride myself on delivering a high quality, flexible, reliable and personal service that meets your brief, budget and timescales.

I’m equally happy working direct with SME clients or providing a ‘white label’ content writing service to digital/marketing agencies in Warwickshire and beyond.

Should a project be too large or complex for me to handle on my own, help is at hand. I can tap into an extensive network of freelance copywriters and independent marketing contacts; I’m also a member of ProCopywriters – the UK’s largest membership organisation for commercial writers.

So if you’re struggling with your copy, whether it’s for a blog, a brochure or a new website, give me a call to discuss how I can help.

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Most people will be familiar with the terms gaggle of geese, litter of puppies, pride of lions and school of dolphins.

Yet there are many other collective nouns for animals – known as “terms of venery” – that are less well known but equally worthy.

Origins of collective nouns

As with most words in the English language, collective nouns have evolved over time. Many have been with us for centuries, while new variations or completely new ones are emerging all the time.

According to the Oxford Dictionary blog, the first collective nouns were typically for groups of animals and birds. For example, a parliament of rooks, a murmuration of starlings and an unkindness of ravens can each be traced back as far as the 15th century.

The first ‘collection’ of collective nouns in English is “The Book of St Albans“, printed in 1486 in three parts covering hawking, hunting and heraldry. Many of these nouns are still in circulation today, but some never really caught on, such as a fall of woodcocks and a shrewdness of apes.

A-Z of collective nouns for animals

You might wish to familiarise yourself with this alphabetical selection of collective nouns for animals, birds and insects; after all, you never know when they might come in handy! Some are fairly logical, others less so…

Army of caterpillars

Bask of crocodiles

Crash of rhinoceroses

Destruction of wild cats

Exaltation of larks

Flutter of butterflies

Glaring of cats

Hover of trout

Intrusion of cockroaches

Knot of toads

Labour of moles

Memory of elephants

Nye of pheasants

Ostentation of peacocks

Pandemonium of parrots

Quiver of cobras

Raft of ducks (on water)

Smack of jellyfish

Troop of kangaroos

Unkindness of ravens

Volary of birds

Wisdom of wombats

Yoke of oxen

Zeal of zebras

Over to you

Which are your favourite collective nouns for animals? I particularly like pandemonium of parrots and smack of jellyfish as they seem rather apt. And I wonder if a memory of elephants led to the phrase “an elephant never forgets”?

(photo courtesy of worradmu via Freedigitalphotos.net)

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The majority of my clients are based in Warwickshire or the Midlands, but I regularly work with businesses across the UK and occasionally in Europe. I’m equally happy working with companies/business owners direct or as a flexible ‘white label’ resource for digital/PR/marketing agencies looking to outsource their content writing or other editorial services.

Confidentiality agreements prevent me from listing all of my clients – many of which are household names – but some of the companies that I’ve worked for over the last few years are shown below. I’ve also included a couple of local non-profit organisations, which I’ve provided marketing/comms support for on a pro bono basis.

Please let me know if you’d like to see some samples of my work and I’ll gladly put together a selection that’s relevant to your specific requirements.