Smitty Two wrote:
In article ,
Ross Herbert wrote:

I think US citizens usually identify products
by
function rather than by brand name alone


Not always though. If one brand has a predominant market share, their
name often becomes a substitute for the generic term. Scotch tape and
post-it notes come to mind. I've never in my life heard anyone say, "do
you have any clear cellophane tape?" And Lazy-Boy to mean any recliner
chair. Non-pilots tend to think that all small airplanes are "Piper
Cubs." A lot of people call any soda "Coke" as in "I'll have a Coke."
(Actually I like Coke, and make damn sure I get it in a restaurant,
rather than Pepsi or any of the other inferior imitations.)


Even regional differences creep in. Here in the South (U.S.), people
refer to all sorts of carbonated soft drinks as 'Coke', as you say.
However, here in Nashville--and immediate surroundings--I kept hearing
natives referring to 'Brico Blocks'. Context supplied the answer (to
the question in my mind) that they were talking about your basic
'concrete block'.

Years later, I heard that there was, at one time, a company here that
manufactured concrete blocks, by the name of Brico. I can find no
reference to it using google; but if I google "brico block" "nashville",
I get a few references to the term.

Rather obscure if you don't live here, but the natives almost all say
'brico block' to describe any kind of concrete or cinder type construction.

jak