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Recently many fast-food restaurants have been advertising that they offer more than one size for their combo meals. Basically, they're saying that they'll give you some more fries and a bigger cup for your drink, that you can refill for free anyway, for a little more money. I don't have a problem with the fact that they're offering different sizes. My problem is what they name the sizes: Medium, Large and Extra Large. Now, I've always thought that something can only be medium-sized if there is something both bigger and something smaller than it. In this instance, medium is the smallest size.
What say you? Simple stupidity or advertising ploy?
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Carpal Tunnel
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Advertising Ploy! Although the whole corporation could have collectively/intentionally  ran out of the small size, and knows it's not worth spending the money to reprogram their cash registers/databases and reprint signage to reflect this permanent super-sizing. Just raise the price 50% and offer a buy-2-get-1-free deal. 
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addict
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It seems that they are using Medium to indicate "average", as in the average size portion that a person might eat. If you are really hungry, you might want a slightly bigger portion, so you'd go for Large, and if you are both very hungry and a big eater, you would be sure to order Extra Large. If they kept the sizes of their meals exactly the same, but they labelled them in the logical order of Small, Medium, Large, average eaters would end up a few sizes bigger and dieters would feel very virtuous but never get any thinner! An entirely different question is what different places consider an "average" size meal to be. We've been to places in the north of Spain where we'd end up requesting "quarter rations" of the regional dishes, and even those were pretty big helpings! The locals would look at me with pity, but my partner got those looks that said "You wimp!" 
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Carpal Tunnel
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Oh, they have the small ones alright! Those are the ones you get when they have the "two cheeseburgers for 99cents" specials.
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Can it be a simply stupid advertising ploy? Surely asking for an extra large unhealthy meal will stimulate those guilt centres in the brain more than asking for a large unhealthy meal, regardless of the size of the meal itself. I'm inclined to agree that "Medium" is the wrong term. Maybe "Regular" is more apt, on which note ...
the smallest condom size you will find is "Regular". After all, who would want to buy a "Small"?
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Pooh-Bah
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The marketers are missing an opportunity here. If I were a condom maker, my smallest size would be labeled "large," and the sizes would go from there to "giant", "gargantuan", and "studking". Which brand do you suppose would lead in sales, hmmmmm?
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Carpal Tunnel
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Which brand do you suppose would lead in sales, hmmmmm?
Trojan.
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After reading this thread, I now know what Mr Fawlty should have said to his petit guest:
'Would you like long drink, or a, er .. medium!'
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Carpal Tunnel
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" Which brand do you suppose would lead in sales, hmmmmm?
Trojan."
I must timidly remind the Gutter Police Commissioner that "Trojan" used to be, and perhaps still is, a brand of
..................forgive me, condom.
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enthusiast
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I recently noticed the same problem when buying dishwasher soap. The sizes included Jumbo, Family, Giant, and Economic (which, as one of the largest, brings to mind Rusty's inaptonym thread because some might think it to be smaller). Looking at those adjectives, I'd have a hard time getting them in order of size.
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Carpal Tunnel
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My local supermarket had a special on large cans of coffee and people were scooping them by the cartful. I looked at the unit price per pound and discovered that I saved money by buying two of the regular size.
Do other countries have "unit pricing?"
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veteran
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In reply to:
Simple stupidity or advertising ploy?
In brief, yes.
What's a better question is, Why would anyone want to get more of that fat- and calorie-laden stuff? [This is the righteous ranting of a reformed sinner who probably could blame a heart attack on fast-food burgers and fries.] Reminds me of the well-known story of the lady at a bridge party who, in conversation about a certain local eatery, said, "Their food is absolute poison. And the portions are so small, too!"
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Pooh-Bah
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I think the situation is this: there used to be a small, medium and large drink at McDonald's. The small is no longer commonly used. It was quite small, about 8 oz. The medium cup is still used, and although it is now the small est cup, it retains its identity as a medium drink. On a barely related topic, why is the word "medium" used to describe that which is in the middle (as in "The play begins in media res with the ghost of King Hamlet stalking the walls of the castle"), as well as the means by which something is transmitted or communicated (as in "The artist was primarily a sculptor in the 1960's but now he has moved on to other media such as printmaking and painting")? I use the "Black Mamba" brand of condoms myself
http://www.mwscomp.com/movies/mol/inlines/i-2_prot.jpgIn reply to:
Do other countries have "unit pricing?"
I don't know but mine's not for sale. ;]
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Carpal Tunnel
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Wicked boy! Do keep up this line of chatter-- its quite satisfying!
you managed to thread together two different themes.. and made me laugh!
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Carpal Tunnel
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I've always enjoyed how olive are sized-- the smallest size is giant, and they get bigger from there move up to colossal! -- and the difference between one size and the other is so slight...
there are other things that just never come in small-- that the smallest size is Trial-- and from there Jumbo! or some other large size..
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old hand
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OP
old hand
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 1,094 |
the smallest size is Trial
Somehow I don't think that would work with condoms.
Side note: and some places label their smallest size Kids. Don't think that would go over very well for condoms either . . .
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Pooh-Bah
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In reply to:
Wicked boy! Do keep up this line of chatter-- its quite satisfying!
you managed to thread together two different themes.. and made me laugh!
of troy: I am delighted to provide amusement. I often do so without meaning to, and at other times intentionally. Ironically enough, in the course of this thread I have been promoted to member. Coincidence, or is it something more?
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Carpal Tunnel
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Pooh-Bah
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enter Gutter Police, who drag Alex off to the dungeon where he is forced to study German verb tenses and listen to the Backstreet Boys, as Alex cries out "I blame society!".
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Trust you'll change your bio to suit, Alex: bwilly@... hobbies: gutter
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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
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Make that a base gutter and I'll join you.
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Carpal Tunnel
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The Gutter Police have a clairvoyant on the force...a true medium...so they are everywhere! 
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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(With apologies to E)
that's OK, -- it's faux French
Tell us the one about the short large, please.
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Carpal Tunnel
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At Juna's in Ithaca (on the Commons) you can get the usual bewildering variety of coffee drinks with various additives (or pollutants, if you wish). My favorite (from a linguistic, not a caloric, point of view) is the latté with half and half instead of milk (my favorite from a caloric point of view is the one with egg nog, but let's not go there just now). It is called a breve (the one with half and half, not the one with egg nog). If you get it in what I believe is the next to smallest size it is a grandé.
Thus you can walk in and boldly order a brevé grandé or a short large. Armed with the knowledge that you have just ordered an oxymoron you look at the signs plastered all over the windows and the phrase NOW OPEN LATER takes on a whole new meaning.
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Carpal Tunnel
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LOL - this one is going in my langauge cuttings folder! Thanks
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Carpal Tunnel
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Thanks, Faldage. I saw it but never coulda done it justice
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