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  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 9,964 Member
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    jestog63 wrote: »
    jestog63 wrote: »
    Yeah baby!!! I got "8" disagrees, that's awesome! So for all you that disagreed Have a Coke and a Smile ... any flavor you want.


    well, not surprising since your statement was factually wrong. ;)

    Wow, you are incredible, my initial statement wasn't about facts. My comment was tongue in cheek basically about what things are called in different areas of the country and how where I live is right and you are wrong. Kind of like my favorite football team is awesome and yours suck, it's not true, it's all BS and in good fun, to bad you can't recognize that but thanks for playing.

    And now you need to be sarcastic. :*

    Clearly the other dozen people who disagreed didn't recognise that either.

    Perhaps your post didn't come across the way you though it did. :*

    I understood it perfectly;
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 9,964 Member
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    lemurcat2 wrote: »
    lemurcat2 wrote: »
    jestog63 wrote: »
    BTW it's coke not soda or pop. They are all coke just different flavors like Dr Pepper, 7-up, mountain dew, orange and rootbeer LOL

    No, they are different things depending on your location.

    Where I live they are called soft drinks - and then one specifies if one means a particular one- coke, pepsi, lemon squash etc
    (I use the term soda on MFP because I think it is more world wide recognisable - I dont use it in real life)

    Soft drinks is understood in the US. It's what restaurants often use.

    I grew up in and live in pop country, but I went to college in the enemy soda part of the country (kidding) and use both somewhat interchangeably. If I ordered diet coke and someone brought me diet pepsi, let alone Dr Pepper or a Diet Dew, that would not be okay!


    oh thats interesting - I never see it referred to as soft drink by americans on this forum.

    In the US it would sound more formal/restaurant speak (kind of like "non-alcoholic beverages") so I would not use it in casual speech, but it doesn't sound weird to me, and I'd expect Americans to understand it for sure.

    Thanks for that.

    Here 'soft drinks' is really the only generic term, unless one means a specific one, eg Coke, raspberry etc.


    Just to be clear, in the U.S. "soda" is a carbonated non-alcoholic drink. "Soft drink" is a wider term that includes non-carbonated and carbonated non-alcoholic drinks. So, juice and iced tea (sweet or unsweet :smile: ) are soft drinks.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
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    lemurcat2 wrote: »
    lemurcat2 wrote: »
    jestog63 wrote: »
    BTW it's coke not soda or pop. They are all coke just different flavors like Dr Pepper, 7-up, mountain dew, orange and rootbeer LOL

    No, they are different things depending on your location.

    Where I live they are called soft drinks - and then one specifies if one means a particular one- coke, pepsi, lemon squash etc
    (I use the term soda on MFP because I think it is more world wide recognisable - I dont use it in real life)

    Soft drinks is understood in the US. It's what restaurants often use.

    I grew up in and live in pop country, but I went to college in the enemy soda part of the country (kidding) and use both somewhat interchangeably. If I ordered diet coke and someone brought me diet pepsi, let alone Dr Pepper or a Diet Dew, that would not be okay!


    oh thats interesting - I never see it referred to as soft drink by americans on this forum.

    In the US it would sound more formal/restaurant speak (kind of like "non-alcoholic beverages") so I would not use it in casual speech, but it doesn't sound weird to me, and I'd expect Americans to understand it for sure.

    Thanks for that.

    Here 'soft drinks' is really the only generic term, unless one means a specific one, eg Coke, raspberry etc.


    Just to be clear, in the U.S. "soda" is a carbonated non-alcoholic drink. "Soft drink" is a wider term that includes non-carbonated and carbonated non-alcoholic drinks. So, juice and iced tea (sweet or unsweet :smile: ) are soft drinks.

    This is true, but typically if I were at a party and someone said "we have beer, wine, and soft drinks" or at a restaurant if someone asked if you wanted a soft drink, I'd think of it as meaning soda or perhaps soda and iced tea, not juice or milk.

    Another little usage distinction is that although soda=any carbonated, here in pop-land I think of pop as meaning a flavored soda. Plain soda water or tonic water wouldn't fall in that category, even though they are carbonated.

    I just checked and found a definition of "pop" as "carbonated soft drink." But don't worry, if you ever ask for a soft drink in the US, they won't just bring some orange juice, but will list off some options! ;-)
  • Theoldguy1
    Theoldguy1 Posts: 2,454 Member
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    earlnabby wrote: »
    jestog63 wrote: »
    BTW it's coke not soda or pop. They are all coke just different flavors like Dr Pepper, 7-up, mountain dew, orange and rootbeer LOL

    I remember as a child that two cousins, one from the Great Lakes region of the Midwest, and one from a southern-bordering part of the Midwest, turned to me to settle an argument between "pop" (Great Lakes) and "sode-y" (more southern part of Midwest). I said that while we (southern part of Mid-Atlantic) did sometimes call it so-DUH, we mostly just called it coke, as in, "Do you want some coke? We have orange, ginger ale, and root beer." Oddly, living in the same region, I don't hear this much anymore, especially not from younger people. I think the influence of national media, combined with the increased likelihood of relocating from one's childhood location, has leached a lot of the colorful variations in regional speech right out of us.

    I grew up in central Wisconsin where we called it "pop". After college I got my first job 90 miles away in eastern Wisconsin where "soda" is preferred. Then there are the weirdos in Door County (the thumb that sticks out into Lake Michigan) who called it all "coke".

    And if you are probably familiar with the term bubbler for drinking fountain.
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
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    Theoldguy1 wrote: »
    earlnabby wrote: »
    jestog63 wrote: »
    BTW it's coke not soda or pop. They are all coke just different flavors like Dr Pepper, 7-up, mountain dew, orange and rootbeer LOL

    I remember as a child that two cousins, one from the Great Lakes region of the Midwest, and one from a southern-bordering part of the Midwest, turned to me to settle an argument between "pop" (Great Lakes) and "sode-y" (more southern part of Midwest). I said that while we (southern part of Mid-Atlantic) did sometimes call it so-DUH, we mostly just called it coke, as in, "Do you want some coke? We have orange, ginger ale, and root beer." Oddly, living in the same region, I don't hear this much anymore, especially not from younger people. I think the influence of national media, combined with the increased likelihood of relocating from one's childhood location, has leached a lot of the colorful variations in regional speech right out of us.

    I grew up in central Wisconsin where we called it "pop". After college I got my first job 90 miles away in eastern Wisconsin where "soda" is preferred. Then there are the weirdos in Door County (the thumb that sticks out into Lake Michigan) who called it all "coke".

    And if you are probably familiar with the term bubbler for drinking fountain.

    Is there any other word??? I also enjoyed the occasional Bismark or fry cake for Saturday morning doughnut breakfast.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 8,995 Member
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    lemurcat2 wrote: »
    lemurcat2 wrote: »
    lemurcat2 wrote: »
    jestog63 wrote: »
    BTW it's coke not soda or pop. They are all coke just different flavors like Dr Pepper, 7-up, mountain dew, orange and rootbeer LOL

    No, they are different things depending on your location.

    Where I live they are called soft drinks - and then one specifies if one means a particular one- coke, pepsi, lemon squash etc
    (I use the term soda on MFP because I think it is more world wide recognisable - I dont use it in real life)

    Soft drinks is understood in the US. It's what restaurants often use.

    I grew up in and live in pop country, but I went to college in the enemy soda part of the country (kidding) and use both somewhat interchangeably. If I ordered diet coke and someone brought me diet pepsi, let alone Dr Pepper or a Diet Dew, that would not be okay!


    oh thats interesting - I never see it referred to as soft drink by americans on this forum.

    In the US it would sound more formal/restaurant speak (kind of like "non-alcoholic beverages") so I would not use it in casual speech, but it doesn't sound weird to me, and I'd expect Americans to understand it for sure.

    Thanks for that.

    Here 'soft drinks' is really the only generic term, unless one means a specific one, eg Coke, raspberry etc.


    Just to be clear, in the U.S. "soda" is a carbonated non-alcoholic drink. "Soft drink" is a wider term that includes non-carbonated and carbonated non-alcoholic drinks. So, juice and iced tea (sweet or unsweet :smile: ) are soft drinks.

    This is true, but typically if I were at a party and someone said "we have beer, wine, and soft drinks" or at a restaurant if someone asked if you wanted a soft drink, I'd think of it as meaning soda or perhaps soda and iced tea, not juice or milk.

    Another little usage distinction is that although soda=any carbonated, here in pop-land I think of pop as meaning a flavored soda. Plain soda water or tonic water wouldn't fall in that category, even though they are carbonated.

    I just checked and found a definition of "pop" as "carbonated soft drink." But don't worry, if you ever ask for a soft drink in the US, they won't just bring some orange juice, but will list off some options! ;-)


    Yes here in Australia too - soft drinks really only means carbonated flavoured drinks - it doesnt mean all non alcoholic drinks.

    so you might see an invitation or description of drinks saying " soft drinks, juice, tea, coffee provided, alcoholic drinks at your own cost" - it wouldnt say just " soft drinks' to mean all non alcoholic drinks if it meant the other options as well.



  • dewd2
    dewd2 Posts: 2,449 Member
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    lemurcat2 wrote: »
    lemurcat2 wrote: »
    jestog63 wrote: »
    BTW it's coke not soda or pop. They are all coke just different flavors like Dr Pepper, 7-up, mountain dew, orange and rootbeer LOL

    No, they are different things depending on your location.

    Where I live they are called soft drinks - and then one specifies if one means a particular one- coke, pepsi, lemon squash etc
    (I use the term soda on MFP because I think it is more world wide recognisable - I dont use it in real life)

    Soft drinks is understood in the US. It's what restaurants often use.

    I grew up in and live in pop country, but I went to college in the enemy soda part of the country (kidding) and use both somewhat interchangeably. If I ordered diet coke and someone brought me diet pepsi, let alone Dr Pepper or a Diet Dew, that would not be okay!


    oh thats interesting - I never see it referred to as soft drink by americans on this forum.

    In the US it would sound more formal/restaurant speak (kind of like "non-alcoholic beverages") so I would not use it in casual speech, but it doesn't sound weird to me, and I'd expect Americans to understand it for sure.

    Thanks for that.

    Here 'soft drinks' is really the only generic term, unless one means a specific one, eg Coke, raspberry etc.


    Just to be clear, in the U.S. "soda" is a carbonated non-alcoholic drink. "Soft drink" is a wider term that includes non-carbonated and carbonated non-alcoholic drinks. So, juice and iced tea (sweet or unsweet :smile: ) are soft drinks.

    Really? In Central Pennsylvania I've never heard 'soft drink' refer to anything else than carbonated beverages.
  • H_Ock12
    H_Ock12 Posts: 1,152 Member
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    When I lost 70lbs a couple of years ago, soda was the first thing to go and I feel like it really made a difference. Granted, I was drinking an average of six twelve ounce MTN Dews a day, so it was a significant calorie cut. As I got into a routine of eating less calories, I would allow for soda only when I went out to eat and that's what I've done as I maintained my weight...we don't have soda in the house, it's a "treat" when I go out for lunch/dinner if I'm not feeling stingy about paying $2 for a glass of soda.
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 9,964 Member
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    dewd2 wrote: »
    lemurcat2 wrote: »
    lemurcat2 wrote: »
    jestog63 wrote: »
    BTW it's coke not soda or pop. They are all coke just different flavors like Dr Pepper, 7-up, mountain dew, orange and rootbeer LOL

    No, they are different things depending on your location.

    Where I live they are called soft drinks - and then one specifies if one means a particular one- coke, pepsi, lemon squash etc
    (I use the term soda on MFP because I think it is more world wide recognisable - I dont use it in real life)

    Soft drinks is understood in the US. It's what restaurants often use.

    I grew up in and live in pop country, but I went to college in the enemy soda part of the country (kidding) and use both somewhat interchangeably. If I ordered diet coke and someone brought me diet pepsi, let alone Dr Pepper or a Diet Dew, that would not be okay!


    oh thats interesting - I never see it referred to as soft drink by americans on this forum.

    In the US it would sound more formal/restaurant speak (kind of like "non-alcoholic beverages") so I would not use it in casual speech, but it doesn't sound weird to me, and I'd expect Americans to understand it for sure.

    Thanks for that.

    Here 'soft drinks' is really the only generic term, unless one means a specific one, eg Coke, raspberry etc.


    Just to be clear, in the U.S. "soda" is a carbonated non-alcoholic drink. "Soft drink" is a wider term that includes non-carbonated and carbonated non-alcoholic drinks. So, juice and iced tea (sweet or unsweet :smile: ) are soft drinks.

    Really? In Central Pennsylvania I've never heard 'soft drink' refer to anything else than carbonated beverages.

    That's probably because carbonated beverages dominate the soft drink category.

    The term originated as alternative to "hard" drinks -- drinks with alcohol.
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 9,964 Member
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    lemurcat2 wrote: »
    lemurcat2 wrote: »
    lemurcat2 wrote: »
    jestog63 wrote: »
    BTW it's coke not soda or pop. They are all coke just different flavors like Dr Pepper, 7-up, mountain dew, orange and rootbeer LOL

    No, they are different things depending on your location.

    Where I live they are called soft drinks - and then one specifies if one means a particular one- coke, pepsi, lemon squash etc
    (I use the term soda on MFP because I think it is more world wide recognisable - I dont use it in real life)

    Soft drinks is understood in the US. It's what restaurants often use.

    I grew up in and live in pop country, but I went to college in the enemy soda part of the country (kidding) and use both somewhat interchangeably. If I ordered diet coke and someone brought me diet pepsi, let alone Dr Pepper or a Diet Dew, that would not be okay!


    oh thats interesting - I never see it referred to as soft drink by americans on this forum.

    In the US it would sound more formal/restaurant speak (kind of like "non-alcoholic beverages") so I would not use it in casual speech, but it doesn't sound weird to me, and I'd expect Americans to understand it for sure.

    Thanks for that.

    Here 'soft drinks' is really the only generic term, unless one means a specific one, eg Coke, raspberry etc.


    Just to be clear, in the U.S. "soda" is a carbonated non-alcoholic drink. "Soft drink" is a wider term that includes non-carbonated and carbonated non-alcoholic drinks. So, juice and iced tea (sweet or unsweet :smile: ) are soft drinks.

    This is true, but typically if I were at a party and someone said "we have beer, wine, and soft drinks" or at a restaurant if someone asked if you wanted a soft drink, I'd think of it as meaning soda or perhaps soda and iced tea, not juice or milk.

    Another little usage distinction is that although soda=any carbonated, here in pop-land I think of pop as meaning a flavored soda. Plain soda water or tonic water wouldn't fall in that category, even though they are carbonated.

    I just checked and found a definition of "pop" as "carbonated soft drink." But don't worry, if you ever ask for a soft drink in the US, they won't just bring some orange juice, but will list off some options! ;-)

    I wouldn't think of milk as a soft drink in any circumstance. I don't know if I could give you a logical reason why, other than the concept of a soft drink as an alternative to an alcoholic drink seems to point to ... things you drink for fun?? And most people don't seem to think of milk that way. But there's a bit of circularity to that reasoning.

    And I agree that at a party, if offered a soft drink, I wouldn't be surprised if my options were limited to soda. But if I offered a guest the option of a soft drink, and they asked what do you have, I would list juice and iced tea if I had them on hand.

    I'm having a hard time imagining being "offered" a soft drink at a restaurant (by the server -- I suppose my host or a fellow diner might suggest a soft drink if I declined an offer of sharing a pitcher of beer or a bottle of wine). There's a menu, and if there is a section labeled soft drinks, it will list the iced tea in that section with the soda choices, if they have iced tea. It likely will list juices and iced coffee and possibly even milk in that section, if they serve those things.

    I think of soda as flavored, as well. If it's unflavored it's soda water or seltzer.
  • xGreatWhiteNorthx
    xGreatWhiteNorthx Posts: 335 Member
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    I didnt, but I never drank them all that often to begin with.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 8,995 Member
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    here is an example in Australia of a typical drinks menu.

    Soft drinks just means the flavoured carbonated drinks - other non alcoholic drinks like bottled water are listed ina separate section as are tea and coffees.

    All non alcoholic drinks are not listed under Soft Drinks.

    qghg89v8d6x1.jpg
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    edited January 2020
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    dewd2 wrote: »
    lemurcat2 wrote: »
    lemurcat2 wrote: »
    jestog63 wrote: »
    BTW it's coke not soda or pop. They are all coke just different flavors like Dr Pepper, 7-up, mountain dew, orange and rootbeer LOL

    No, they are different things depending on your location.

    Where I live they are called soft drinks - and then one specifies if one means a particular one- coke, pepsi, lemon squash etc
    (I use the term soda on MFP because I think it is more world wide recognisable - I dont use it in real life)

    Soft drinks is understood in the US. It's what restaurants often use.

    I grew up in and live in pop country, but I went to college in the enemy soda part of the country (kidding) and use both somewhat interchangeably. If I ordered diet coke and someone brought me diet pepsi, let alone Dr Pepper or a Diet Dew, that would not be okay!


    oh thats interesting - I never see it referred to as soft drink by americans on this forum.

    In the US it would sound more formal/restaurant speak (kind of like "non-alcoholic beverages") so I would not use it in casual speech, but it doesn't sound weird to me, and I'd expect Americans to understand it for sure.

    Thanks for that.

    Here 'soft drinks' is really the only generic term, unless one means a specific one, eg Coke, raspberry etc.


    Just to be clear, in the U.S. "soda" is a carbonated non-alcoholic drink. "Soft drink" is a wider term that includes non-carbonated and carbonated non-alcoholic drinks. So, juice and iced tea (sweet or unsweet :smile: ) are soft drinks.

    Really? In Central Pennsylvania I've never heard 'soft drink' refer to anything else than carbonated beverages.

    That's probably because carbonated beverages dominate the soft drink category.

    The term originated as alternative to "hard" drinks -- drinks with alcohol.

    That may be true but actual usage for anything other than soda went the way of the Dodo decades ago. 63 years old and I never heard "soft drink" used for something other than soda.

    ETA: the Wikipedia definition

    "A soft drink (see § Terminology for other names) is a drink that usually contains carbonated water (although some lemonades are not carbonated), a sweetener, and a natural or artificial flavoring. The sweetener may be a sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, fruit juice, a sugar substitute (in the case of diet drinks), or some combination of these. Soft drinks may also contain caffeine, colorings, preservatives, and/or other ingredients."

    Other than lemonade, no mention of juice, tea, etc. ever being called a soft drink.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
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    here is an example in Australia of a typical drinks menu.

    Soft drinks just means the flavoured carbonated drinks - other non alcoholic drinks like bottled water are listed ina separate section as are tea and coffees.

    All non alcoholic drinks are not listed under Soft Drinks.

    qghg89v8d6x1.jpg

    US is similar, at least frequently.

    See this Denny's menu (https://www.dennys.com/food/drinks-and-shakes/)

    (Which I'm using as a kid-friendly national chain that's all over the country. I haven't actually been to one in about 25 years.)

    Or this Waffle House: https://www.wafflehouse.com/waffle-house-menu/#iLightbox[a548f87418451bb140b]/0

    Category for soft drinks seems to be pop. Separate categories for juice, milk, even lemonade.

    Lynn is absolutely right that soft drinks is derived from being non-alcoholic (not a hard drink), and I wouldn't think it was weird to use it more generally, but I also think it's common to use it to mean pop. None of this is hard and fast in the US, but you could totally use it in speech with an American and not confuse them!
  • Theoldguy1
    Theoldguy1 Posts: 2,454 Member
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    lemurcat2 wrote: »
    Sweet tea is another of those regional things. If I ordered "tea" or "iced tea," I'd assume that meant unsweetened, but I guess in some places you have to specify "unsweetened," which seems weird to me. I have been traveling to MS a bunch for work over the past couple of years, and I recall one of the first trips there we got lunch brought in and our hosts assured us they'd gotten unsweet tea since they knew that's how Yankees liked it.

    I traveled to a facility outside Greenville SC my company was opening up in the eary 1990's when a lot of US and foreign companies were locating in that area. We went to lunch in at the local diner. When I went up to the counter to pick up my lunch including the iced tea I ordered. I asked the server if there was any sweetener for the tea. She gave me a weird look and said. "you want MORE sugar in that".

  • Bluejay61
    Bluejay61 Posts: 28 Member
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    I used to LOVE Diet Cherry Vanilla Coke back in the early 90s...wow, like cake in a can. My brother-in law and I could not get enough of it! But once they stopped making it, my love of all things soda died.

    But whether full sugar, low sugar or diet, soda is a bad one for anyone's diet for so many reasons. When even the diet stuff triggers an insulin response (who knew???) it's time to save your money and maybe ditch it all.

  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
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    Theoldguy1 wrote: »
    lemurcat2 wrote: »
    Sweet tea is another of those regional things. If I ordered "tea" or "iced tea," I'd assume that meant unsweetened, but I guess in some places you have to specify "unsweetened," which seems weird to me. I have been traveling to MS a bunch for work over the past couple of years, and I recall one of the first trips there we got lunch brought in and our hosts assured us they'd gotten unsweet tea since they knew that's how Yankees liked it.

    I traveled to a facility outside Greenville SC my company was opening up in the eary 1990's when a lot of US and foreign companies were locating in that area. We went to lunch in at the local diner. When I went up to the counter to pick up my lunch including the iced tea I ordered. I asked the server if there was any sweetener for the tea. She gave me a weird look and said. "you want MORE sugar in that".

    When traveling in sweet tea land I found it easier to order hot tea and a glass of ice.
  • Bluejay61
    Bluejay61 Posts: 28 Member
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    Has anyone had very quick results when they cut pop/soda whichever you call it completely out of their diet

    Some people do. It really depends on how many you drink and what percentage of your daily calories come from soda. If you drink quite a bit and eliminating it would put you in a calorie deficit, it will work for you.

    Agreed. I have a few neighbors who were BIG Mountain Dew addicts, lol, and they all got together and quit. They said that after the caffeine-withdrawl headaches stopped...the weight started rolling off, to a point, plus a ton of other health benefits like not wrecking their teeth anymore (soda is really acidic, especially is large quantities).

    But as others have said, if soda doesn't make up much of your calorie totals, you might not see such a big dip on your scale. But no one would say soda is "good" for anyone. Fun, but not "good." :smile:
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 8,995 Member
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    Bluejay I dont think anyone is claiming it is good - as in nutritious.

    But that's not the same as your previous post where you said it is 'bad for anyone's diet for so many reasons"

    I dont think it is bad, in moderation (like everything) - unless you have a medical specific reason why you should not drink it - ie you are diabetic and you shouldnt drink sugary drinks.

    The amount of diet soft drink and occasional regular soft drink that I consume is not bad for me .
  • magnusthenerd
    magnusthenerd Posts: 1,207 Member
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    lemurcat2 wrote: »
    lemurcat2 wrote: »
    lemurcat2 wrote: »
    jestog63 wrote: »
    BTW it's coke not soda or pop. They are all coke just different flavors like Dr Pepper, 7-up, mountain dew, orange and rootbeer LOL

    No, they are different things depending on your location.

    Where I live they are called soft drinks - and then one specifies if one means a particular one- coke, pepsi, lemon squash etc
    (I use the term soda on MFP because I think it is more world wide recognisable - I dont use it in real life)

    Soft drinks is understood in the US. It's what restaurants often use.

    I grew up in and live in pop country, but I went to college in the enemy soda part of the country (kidding) and use both somewhat interchangeably. If I ordered diet coke and someone brought me diet pepsi, let alone Dr Pepper or a Diet Dew, that would not be okay!


    oh thats interesting - I never see it referred to as soft drink by americans on this forum.

    In the US it would sound more formal/restaurant speak (kind of like "non-alcoholic beverages") so I would not use it in casual speech, but it doesn't sound weird to me, and I'd expect Americans to understand it for sure.

    Thanks for that.

    Here 'soft drinks' is really the only generic term, unless one means a specific one, eg Coke, raspberry etc.


    Just to be clear, in the U.S. "soda" is a carbonated non-alcoholic drink. "Soft drink" is a wider term that includes non-carbonated and carbonated non-alcoholic drinks. So, juice and iced tea (sweet or unsweet :smile: ) are soft drinks.

    This is true, but typically if I were at a party and someone said "we have beer, wine, and soft drinks" or at a restaurant if someone asked if you wanted a soft drink, I'd think of it as meaning soda or perhaps soda and iced tea, not juice or milk.

    Another little usage distinction is that although soda=any carbonated, here in pop-land I think of pop as meaning a flavored soda. Plain soda water or tonic water wouldn't fall in that category, even though they are carbonated.

    I just checked and found a definition of "pop" as "carbonated soft drink." But don't worry, if you ever ask for a soft drink in the US, they won't just bring some orange juice, but will list off some options! ;-)

    I wouldn't think of milk as a soft drink in any circumstance. I don't know if I could give you a logical reason why, other than the concept of a soft drink as an alternative to an alcoholic drink seems to point to ... things you drink for fun?? And most people don't seem to think of milk that way. But there's a bit of circularity to that reasoning.

    And I agree that at a party, if offered a soft drink, I wouldn't be surprised if my options were limited to soda. But if I offered a guest the option of a soft drink, and they asked what do you have, I would list juice and iced tea if I had them on hand.

    I'm having a hard time imagining being "offered" a soft drink at a restaurant (by the server -- I suppose my host or a fellow diner might suggest a soft drink if I declined an offer of sharing a pitcher of beer or a bottle of wine). There's a menu, and if there is a section labeled soft drinks, it will list the iced tea in that section with the soda choices, if they have iced tea. It likely will list juices and iced coffee and possibly even milk in that section, if they serve those things.

    I think of soda as flavored, as well. If it's unflavored it's soda water or seltzer.

    Probably just because regardless of etymology, you acquire the language of soft drink as a family resemblance concept instead of a principled criteria. It is how it is with a lot of terms and concepts we use everyday, hence questions of is a hotdog a sandwich and is cereal soup.