I think you should always say "a six pack of something" when you want to have a pack of six of it.
a six pack of "something"
If you say "I want a six pack" to a clerk, he or she will ask you back "A six pack of what?"
Thanks for reply, Believer. But I thought that adjectives in the form of 'numbers + unit-of-measurement' are to be hyphenated. Such as: a ten-story building. How come the rule doesn't apply here?
Also how to say a six pack chicken nuggets meal? Does any hyphen needed?
Hi,
I think normally the term 'six pack' is written with a hyphen like this:
a six-pack of something
To me, that doesn't mean the spelling 'six pack' is incorrect.
Now, as to the phrase "a six pack chicken nuggets meal", I think it is not idiomatic, not to mention that it isn't written right. Normally, you wouldn't find pack used like that.
XYZ supermarket Ad: Coca cola on sale today. Six pack for 1.99.
Limit 4 per customer.
With or without hyphen, both are correct. It depends on how six pack is written.
LcwangThanks for reply, Believer. But I thought that adjectives in the form of 'numbers + unit-of-measurement' are to be hyphenated. Such as: a ten-story building. How come the rule doesn't apply here?
For issues about hyphenation, my advice would be to pick a dictionary and use whatever it recommends. I like www.m-w.com so I use the hyphenation (or lack of hyphenation) as shown there. This dictionary has six-pack as hyphenated compound.
Hi,
I forgot to answer last time but I think the menu item can be called (perhaps already being called as such) "a six-piece chicken meal", "a six-piece chicken strip meal." For the term "nuggets," I think it can be referred to small chunks of chicken but I haven't seen it being used with the word "chicken" although I do believe McDonald's might have a name similar to that.
Chicken nuggets are quite common in the west (yuk).
The reason that we use 'six-pack of' with drinks is that a six-pack is a very specific design of packaging. It has its own name and we don't really talk of 'five-packs' or anything in the same way.
It is so well known that 'six-pack' has become a slang term for a well-muscled abdomen (you can see 6 muscles bulging).
I think you should always say "a six pack of something" when you want to have a pack of six of it.
a six pack of "something"
If you say "I want a six pack" to a clerk, he or she will ask you back "A six pack of what?"
I think normally the term 'six pack' is written with a hyphen like this:
a six-pack of something
To me, that doesn't mean the spelling 'six pack' is incorrect.
Now, as to the phrase "a six pack chicken nuggets meal", I think it is not idiomatic, not to mention that it isn't written right. Normally, you wouldn't find pack used like that.
XYZ supermarket Ad: Coca cola on sale today. Six pack for 1.99.
Limit 4 per customer.
With or without hyphen, both are correct. It depends on how six pack is written.
I forgot to answer last time but I think the menu item can be called (perhaps already being called as such) "a six-piece chicken meal", "a six-piece chicken strip meal." For the term "nuggets," I think it can be referred to small chunks of chicken but I haven't seen it being used with the word "chicken" although I do believe McDonald's might have a name similar to that.
The reason that we use 'six-pack of' with drinks is that a six-pack is a very specific design of packaging. It has its own name and we don't really talk of 'five-packs' or anything in the same way.
It is so well known that 'six-pack' has become a slang term for a well-muscled abdomen (you can see 6 muscles bulging).