Reading Dog Days from Jeff Kinney, a Wimpy
Kid's book, -that's my level- I found Greg's father buys his clothes in the
pharmacy. It, from Europe, it's a bit odd..
6 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN
AMERICAN ‘DRUGSTORES’ AND BRITISH ‘CHEMISTS’
BY JON LANGFORD
Liquor and party favors in your
local ‘chemist’? We’re not in Boots anymore, Toto. (Photo via Long Beach Louie)
Party favor: A party favor or party favour
is a small gift given to the guests at a party as a gesture of thanks for their
attendance, a memento of the occasion, or simply as an aid to frivolity.
Boots: (formerly Boots the Chemists
Ltd), trading as Boots, is a health and beauty retailer and pharmacy chain in
the United Kingdom, Ireland, other territories.:
Toto: Dorothy's little black dog in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
In Britain, one would pop to the chemist to
tend to their everyday ailments, whereas in America, you’d swing by the more
dangerous sounding “drugstore” to get your meds. In principle, the two serve
the same purpose, but there are many differences between the British and American
pharmaceutical experience.
American drugstores
moonlight as convenience
stores
The fundamental difference between U.S. and
U.K. pharmacies is that in the States, the establishments masquerade as general
convenience stores where you can get everyday essentials like cat food,
cockroach traps and Christina Aguilera’s new fragrance, 24 hours a day. In
Britain, on the other hand, the chemist remains a place one doesn’t want to
frequent, because if you’re there, it’s to pick up a prescription.
Convenience
store: A
convenience store or convenience shop is a small retail business that stocks a
range of everyday items such as groceries, snack foods, confectionery, soft
drinks, tobacco products, over-the-counter drugs, toiletries, newspapers, and
magazines. In some jurisdictions, convenience stores are licensed to sell
alcohol, typically beer and wine. Such stores may also offer money order and
wire transfer services.
A convenience store may be part of a gas/petrol
station, so customers can purchase goods conveniently while filling their
vehicle with fuel. It may be located alongside a busy road, in an urban area,
near a railway or railroad station, or at another transport hub. In some
countries, convenience stores have long shopping hours, some remaining open 24
hours.
Convenience stores usually charge significantly higher
prices than conventional grocery stores or supermarkets, as these stores order
smaller quantities of inventory at higher per-unit prices from wholesalers.
However, convenience stores make up for this loss by having longer open hours,
serving more locations, and having shorter cashier lines.
A convenience store may also be called a c-store, cold
store, party store, bodega, carry out, mini-market, mini-mart, konbini, corner
shop (British English-speaking countries) depanneur or dep (the last two are
loanwords from the French term used in parts of Canada).
Masquerade: To masquerade as someone or
something means to pretend to be that person or thing, particularly in order to
deceive other people
Drugstores in the U.S.
are fun for all the family
In America, pharmacies are huge, kid-friendly
places with shelves stacked full of crappy plastic toys and just about every
conceivable candy bar. It is not a place little ones fear; on the contrary, a
trip to Rite Aid is met from the backseat with a whoop or two of delight. Chemists in Britain, however, have
bored-looking, sometimes weepy, always snotty children fidgeting in chairs
while their mum waits for the prescription to cure their snottiness
(and hopefully their fidgets too). The
only saving grace for these poor little cherubs is the
promise of a lollipop (that for some reason also functions as a whistle before
it’s sucked on too much) if they keep their whining
to a minimum.
Rite Aid: Rite Aid Corporation is a
drugstore chain in the United States.
Whoop: If you whoop, you shout loudly
in a very happy or excited way.
Weepy: Sad
Snotty: In this case is a kid with fluid
coming out from his nose. But If you describe someone as snotty, you disapprove
of them because they have a very proud and superior attitude to other people.
Fidget: If you fidget, you keep moving
your hands or feet slightly or changing your position slightly, for example
because you are nervous, bored, or excited.
Cherub [tʃerəb]: A cherub is a kind of angel that
is represented in art as a naked child with wings.
Whining:
If
something or someone whines, they make a long, high-pitched noise, especially
one which sounds sad or unpleasant: He could hear her dog barking and whining
in the background.
You can get things in Walgreens you’d never get
in Boots
“They sell cigarettes and alcohol in a
chemist?!” That was the medical paradox set before my fresh-off-the-boat
eyes during my inaugural visit to a U.S. pharmacy back in the summer
of 2007. And frankly, it scared the Brit out of me. How
could a store, that by definition exists to sell medicine to sick people, be
trading in products that could ultimately kill them? It seemed so unethical.
Fast-forward to present day New York City, and the only
time I ever have occasion to use the word “chemist” is if I’m visiting a
laboratory. Which is never. It’s “drugstore” now. And I take the convenience of
being able to nip there to pick up a six-pack
of Heineken for granted.
Walgreens: Walgreen Company or simply
Walgreens is an American company that operates as the second-largest pharmacy
store chain in the United States behind CVS Health.
Brit: British people are sometimes
referred to as Brits.
Fresh-off-the-boat
eyes: The
phrases fresh off the boat (FOB), off the boat (OTB), banana boat (BB), or just
simply boat are terms used to describe immigrants who have arrived from a
foreign nation and have yet to assimilate into the host nation's culture,
language, and behaviour, but still continue with their ethnic ideas and
practices.
Fast-forward:
To
direct one's attention towards a particular time or event, ignoring intervening
material.
Being
able to nip: You can pick up something
You say tomato…
As far as everyday pharmaceutical products are
concerned there are some classic nuances between
American and British names for the same thing. I remember the first time I
asked an American for a plaster. Nothing.
Zip. Nada. After explaining that I required a small dressing to cover a minor
scrape, I was informed that what I needed was a Band-Aid.
The charity supergroup formed by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure? No, the brand name
term generically used in the U.S. for an adhesive bandage.
Then there was the time I went into a Duane Reade and asked where they kept the Deep Heat. Looking back, I think the cashier thought I was
inquiring where I might find the guns. I clarified that I was only interested
in purchasing a menthol muscle rub and the cashier
told me he had some Ben-Gay on aisle nine. And then
I was the confused one.
Nuance: A nuance is a small difference
in sound, feeling, appearance, or meaning.
Plaster (UK) = Band-Aid (USA)
Duane
Reade: Duane
Reade Inc. /ˈduːeɪn riːd/ is a chain of pharmacy and convenience stores owned
by Walgreens Boots Alliance.
Deep
Heat: Deep
Heat is the UK's No.1 selling heat brand. Deep Heat Rub, spray and patches are
recommended for muscular aches, pains and stiffness and provides targeted pain
relief plus penetrating heat therapy.
Rub: Rub is a substance that you
massage into your skin.
Ben-Gay: Bengay, spelled Ben-Gay before
1995, is a topical analgesic heat rub, applied to temporarily relieve muscle
and joint pain associated with arthritis, bruises, simple backaches, sprains
and strains.
Aisle: passageway between sections of
seats in rows
Possible side effects
Generally speaking, in Britain you need a
prescription for something that might actually work, whereas in America, you
have the freedom to dose yourself with all kinds of exotic drugs that could
have all manner of ludicrous possible
side effects. A recent infomercial for a new drug to combat the common cold
listed the following: temporary psychosis, gambling addiction, enlargement of
the feet, yellowing of the skin and eyes, and, in severe cases, an inexplicable
penchant for ‘80’s rock ballads.
Ludicrous: ridiculous, crazy [informal],
absurd, preposterous
Different products
Although I miss not being able to readily get
my Britpaws on certain chemist staples —Lucozade, Migraleve, Vaseline lip balm in a tin
(which melts in the blistering heat of a New York summer anyway)—there are some
American products for which I’m grateful and former expat pals always ask me to
bring them when I visit England, a list which includes Neosporin, melatonin,
and Crest whitening strips, to name but three items.
Melatonin is an interesting case in point. In
most of North America it is sold over-the-counter as a dietary supplement and
not as a drug. Whereas in the U.K., it is available only on prescription as the
European Economic Community (EEC) hasn’t passed it for safe use because not
enough is known about the long-term effects of prolonged consumption. But then pharmacies in America have to offer
a wide range of strong over-the-counter drugs so that the 40 million+ people
living here without health insurance have access to medicine without having to
first consult a doctor.
Britpaws: ???
Staple: A staple is something that
forms an important part of something else. In other sense is the metal piece
that join two papers. Staple-machine.
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