brand names becoming names of items or even jobs?

[joko]

what other names do people adopt?

Name like hoover, biro and to some extent breville - all brand names that have become the name of the item regardless of actual brand

thanks

[gary baldy]

Google has now become a verb
"Google it!" "ive been Googled!"

[Stu in USA]

Petrol in the UK, Xerox in the USA.

[Drusilla]

Filofax. I remember my parents buying me one when I joined the sixth form. It seems a lifetime ago.

[brachiopod]

Optic � the spirits measuring device you get in pubs.

[colenso]

A 'JCB' for any digging machine - at least in this country anyway....

[Buenchico]

I'm not sure about Stu's assertion that 'petrol' is derived from a trade name. (The Concise Oxford Dictionary doesn't think it is either).

Trade names adopted for generic use? Sellotape (unless you're in Oz, where it's Durex!). Walkman. WD40 perhaps?

Chris

[Jules001]

Coke? I don't know anyone who asks for a cola!

[joko]

isn't it called coca cola though?

[Buenchico]

'Coke' is a registered trade mark of the Coca Cola company, so it still fits in with the rest of this list. (If you ask for a rum & Coke in a bar, the barman is actually breaching the Trade Descriptions Act if he puts Pepsi - or any other cola - in the drink).

Returning to my previous post, I mentioned that 'Durex' is the generic name for a clear adhesive tape in Oz. I omitted to mention, of course, that it's often used as a generic term for something else here :-)

Chris

[Stu in USA]

Chris, I was under the impression that the word petrol came from BP, clearly a trade name. Also is there an alternative to WD40?

[joko]

i don't think BP invented the word petroleum.

and we don't say "I'm just off to the garage to get some BP"

[brachiopod]

I don't think petrol is a trade name is it? Just a contraction of petroleum ( from the greek for 'rock oil'), though I will stand corrected if anyone can point to a reference.

But while we're on the subject, how about Vaseline? (petroleum jelly, for anyone unaware of the UK brand.)

[Stu in USA]

Guess I'm mistaken, over here it's gasoline and was trying to explain to Yankees why we call it petrol. Seemed like a good answer at the time!!

[Buenchico]

Regarding Stu's question 'Is there an alterntive to WD40?' : Alongside WD40 in my local Tesco Extra store, there is their own brand product which is called something like 'lubricating spray'. I'm sure, however, that anyone who fixes a small problem with it will still say 'All it took was a shot of WD40'

Adding to the list, what about Blu-Tack? There are plenty of other brands on the market but, irrespective of the brand purchased, everyone uses the trade name.

Anyway, what is Blu-Tack if it isn't Blu-Tack? I mean that pedants can say 'clear adhesive tape' if they don't actually mean the brand called 'Sellotape'. They can say 'petroleum jelly' if they're not really talking about 'Vaseline'. But what generic term should we use to cover all products similar to Blu-Tack? (Suggestions welcomed!)

Remaining in the stationery store, Tippex almost qualifies as an example. I've often heard 'pass the Tippex' when someone's actually been referring to a product with a different brand name. ('Pass the correcting fluid' would be understood but probably only rarely used). The reason I suggest that Tippex only partly qualifies, however, is that there's another brand name (Snowpake) which has also gained generic usage alongside Tippex.

Another thought: I'd bet that if you ask many people what type of lock they've got on their front door, they'll say 'Oh, it's a Yale' even though it's probably made by a completely different company.

Lastly, here's one for Stu to confirm or deny. Would I be correct in thinking that, in the US, swimming trunks are more commonly known by the trade name of 'Speedos'?

Chris

[joko]

you know what's funny, when i first thought to ask this question, i had tippex, sellotape and blu-tak too, but when i came to write it out i couldn't think of them at the time. typical ...:o)

also add, stanley knife and phillips head screwdriver

i have seen white tack, green tack and black tack so i wonder who chose the name tack first?

never heard of snowpake, i've always just said liquid paper, but i don't know if that is a brand name.

i've heard people say fairy liquid meaning any washing up liquid, but i don't think that is very common and has not become generic

[Buenchico]

That's interesting, Joko. Although I've heard 'liquid paper' used, I wouldn't have given it as my preferred generic term. A web search, however, shows that, not only is it a trade name, but it's actually the original trade name used by its inventor:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquid_Paper

Chris

[henneth]

In the US they refer to sellotape as Scotch tape and cotton buds as Q-tips. Both of them are brand names.

Aqualung is a brand name. It got Jethro Tull into trouble in 1971 when they released their album of the same name. They thought it was just a generic term for diving equipment.

What about Tannoy? That's also a brand. Don't people call someone 'over the Tannoy' like 'Mr Hignet call on line 101, Mr Hignet, line 101'. Incidently, there's a car dealership over the road from me that has one two members of staff and one phone line. There's the girl in the office who announces on the Tannoy to the only other member of staff Mr Hignet that there's a call on the only phone line they have, which is line 101. She does it every 5 minutes and it drives me insane!! One day she'll freak me out and say line 102.

[joko]

dremel?

[Stu in USA]

Gettting back to Chris' question about Speedos in the USA. Only a specific type of swimwear, ie trunks that usually only serious swimmers use that cover the bare minimum. They're known by brand name. "Speedos"

[kazza55]

In the UK, how about, putting your Marigolds on when you are washing up. It sounds so much nicer than rubber gloves don't you think?