I’m a southerner, but recently noticed I’m the only one who seems to say “tin” rather than “can”. I think I got it from my Dad, who’s from Birmingham. Meanwhile, my Mum (from Winchester) prefers “can”.
Which do you/people in your area tend to prefer and is this a regional thing?
EDIT: It has come to my attention that I should probably have been more specific. I’m talking about the container that beans, soup, and other foodstuffs are sold in, not the many other uses for both of these words. Thanks for all the wonderful comments though, they gave me a good laugh!
Tin of beans
Can of beer
Can of drink and tin of food … this is the way
Can of beans and a tinny?
Tin of beans and a canny
(Not really)
This is the way.
I think you tinnot use them interchanebly at all
I’m so glad I wasn’t the only one thinking about that. I thought maybe it was a colloquialism I was unfamiliar with, like finna (up till 5 years ago, I had no idea that was a word).
Dialects are weird, right? But, personally, if I’m referring to the fictional Belgian adventurer I say tin; if it’s the French burlesque dance routine it’s can.
Tin: probably food but can be a drink if specified
Can: probably a drink but can be food if specified
Tinnie: beerI switch between the two fairly freely. Pretty much always can for drink, but I think I marginally favour tin for food.
I’m in Swindon, which has a fairly mongrel West Country-meets-London-meets-Midlands accent, which probably explains the prevalence of both.
Edinburgh calling. Food comes in tins. Juice comes in cans. Yes, you heard me.
I think I use both interchangably with no logic behind it
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Usually tin of food, can of drink. But only with about 80% consistency; sometimes I swap them. I’m from the south-east.
Bowie sat in a tin can
Not quite a direct answer, but since watching Mortimer and Whitehouse: Gone Fishing, we’ve enjoyed referring to things in tins/cans as trapped potatoes, trapped beans etc.
I call them tins when I want to sound British, personally.
I always use tins for cupboard food like beans, soup, and tinned tomatoes. For cans of pop or beer I use cans normally but sometimes I use tins. Sometimes up here in the north east you’ll hear people refer to tins of beer as tinnies.
I’ll have a tin of spam, a tin of beans and wash that bad boy down with a can of McEwan’s Export.
I’m from South-West Scotland, and I’d say tin for drinks and for food. A metallic container of Coca-Cola is “a tin of juice”.
