Re: supermarket cashier again


Peter T. Daniels <grammatim@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:42B07B52.6054@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Paul J Kriha wrote:
> >
> > Peter T. Daniels <grammatim@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
> > news:42B01F16.22F6@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > > Ron Hardin wrote:
> > > >
> > > > Peter T. Daniels wrote:
> > > > >
> > > > > Operatunity was shown in the US for the first time this evening (a sort
> > > > > of Pop Idol/American Idol for opera amateurs, but all in one 90-minute
> > > > > program), and the big winner was shown at her job -- as a cashier at
> > > > > Tescos. She scanned each item _and bagged it_. Those scenes were
> > > > > probably shot in 2001.
> > > > > --
> > > > > Peter T. Daniels
> > > >
> > > > Surely it's ``sacked'' in some regions.
> > >
> > > "Sacked" means 'fired' (UK: 'made redundant'). (Talk about
> > > euphemisms!!!)
> > > Peter T. Daniels
> >
> > Yes, that too, plus in my 'region', "bagging" means "catching"
> > or "stealing" something. :-)
>
> When I was in college (over 30 years ago), "bag it!" meant
> 'fuggeddaboudit!', 'blow it off', 'don't bother doing it'.

I may have heard "bag it!" used downunder in more-or-less
the same sense, but it was probably a straight borrowing
from a US movie.


> > Down'ere, I'd say the cashier or her assistant packs my
> > shopping for me.
>
> One packs one's luggage for a trip, or objects for shipping. It involves
> care and neatness and secureness.

Nearly the same care and neatness is required to pack shopping.
All glass bottles have to packed to prevent glass touching
glass. The packer prepares separate bags of different
categories of product. The classification is done according to
presumed destination of each item.
Frozen foodstuffs, cold shrinkwrapped meats, and butter get
put individually in small bags, then all these refrigerated items
end up in a big separate bag. All tins in a separate bag. Bottles of
wine get put in individual narrow paper bags and then all in a
separate plastic bag. I think the term packing is quite justified.
And all of that is done at high speed so as not to delay the
cashier and the next customer. The current customer is usually
fully busy taking finished bags and loading them back onto
a trolly (shopping cart?) while keeping an eye on the prices
of scanned items on his repeater monitor.

Paul JK


> Peter T. Daniels


.