CalifJim  +  284892 Tue, 24 Oct 06 03:52 AM Sociologically, a muffin is everyday living, whereas a cupcake is "we're getting fancy." It was just the reverse where I grew up (in the Midwest (U.S.)).  Cupcakes were as common as dirt, but muffins were only eaten by the better educated, monied class.  And we drank either coffee or tea with either one! CJ CalifJim Joined on Mon, Aug 2 2004 California Veteran Member 22,128 "There are no facts, only interpretations" - Nietzsche

	Grammar Geek  +  284894 Tue, 24 Oct 06 03:58 AM  Philip wrote: And then we have scones in the Pacific Northwest that are so hard and dry that they would most likely shatter if thrown against a wall.  Some people crave them....I find them dull, unless they have frosting on them and are heated.  (They're almost as hard as biscotti.) Philip, you have to try my scones. I make a ham and cheese scone that a Brit would never recognize as a scone, but my coworkers can't get enough of! No shattering! There's a bakery near where I work that sells just "muffin tops." They're the best part anyway. So why buy the rest of the muffin when you can get just a top? Grammar Geek Joined on Tue, Jan 10 2006 Veteran Member 19,506 Barbara, who answers in American English. My housekeeping skills attest to the truth of the second law of thermodynamics: Left to themselves, things get more and more random!

	nona the brit  +  284990 Tue, 24 Oct 06 10:37 AM Did you know muffin top is slang for that bit of tummy that bulges over the top of tight jeans? nona the brit Joined on Wed, Sep 22 2004 England Veteran Member 11,743 The name says it all.

	Grammar Geek  +  285074 Tue, 24 Oct 06 02:37 PM Yes! My friend used that phrase the other day. I about died laughing! But it's so perfect. Grammar Geek

	J Lewis  +  285086 Tue, 24 Oct 06 03:45 PM What does Philip mean by biscotti? In Italian it just means biscuits (BrE) or cookies (AmE). Does it have some special meaning to Americans/British? J Lewis Joined on Tue, Sep 5 2006 Italy Regular Member 518 Cookies

	Grammar Geek  +  285106 Tue, 24 Oct 06 05:02 PM Yes, in the U.S., they are a special type of cookies that you usually get at a coffee house. They are sliced, so they are flat on two sides, and often about the side of two fingers held together. They are always quite hard, and often feature nuts, and often are not very sweet compared to a more typical cookie. Some are yummy - but others taste (to me!) like cookies someone left in the oven for too long and forgot to add the sugar. Grammar Geek Cookies

	nona the brit  +  285108 Tue, 24 Oct 06 05:16 PM Yes they are hard, thick, rectangular biscuits meant for dipping in your coffee. nona the brit

	J Lewis  +  285122 Tue, 24 Oct 06 05:57 PM They sound a bit like what the Italians, especially the Tuscans, call cantucci, which are even better dipped in sweet wine! J Lewis

	CalifJim  +  285154 Tue, 24 Oct 06 08:30 PM Biscotti are of Italian origin, yes.  While the word may refer to any kind of cookie in Italy, it refers only to a particular kind in the U.S. -- the kind originally introduced into this country by Italian immigrants.  They are quite different, as described by others above, from what we consider a typical "cookie" in AmE. (They have nothing to do with American biscuits.) CJ CalifJim