I help myself

Forums: English, Esl, Grammar, Container For Serving Rice
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There's an urn of rice. Someone offers to scoop some rice for me. But I want to decline,

1. What should I say? Can this do?:

-No, thanks. I help myself.

2. What's the natural way of saying 'an urn of rice' and 'scoop some rice on my plate'?

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@WBYeats,

-No thanks, I'll help myself

Quote:

2. What's the natural way of saying 'an urn of rice'

According to my BH, who is much smarter than I, "a bowl of rice". She says "urn" suggests death

Quote:

and 'scoop some rice on my plate'?

I'd say "onto"

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@dalehileman,

dalehileman wrote:

According to my BH,

Good answers overall, but "BH" might not be understood in an English Second Language thread.

BH = Better Half = term for one's spouse

"Better half" might end up being a short-lived idiom that no one will even remember 30 years from now. It is fairly common today though.

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@oralloy,

Thank you~

But that urn is the place where rice is stored first before being scooped onto the plate! What is that urn called?

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@WBYeats,

I would most likely call it a pot, which is what it would be cooked in. It could also be served from a serving bowl.

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You could 'help yourself', but it is somewhat more polite to let someone else serve you if they offer.

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@WBYeats,

WBYeats wrote:

But that urn is the place where rice is stored first before being scooped onto the plate! What is that urn called?

Americans don't tend to eat rice often enough to have a "rice-specific" serving dish.

Maybe bowl, plate, pan, platter, whichever of those terms best matches what the rice is being served from?

Would rice be served from some sort of casserole dish?

Maybe someone else here has more experience with rice than I do, and will know a better term.

1 Reply

@oralloy,

Here, rice is cooked in a pot, or a steamer.
Then, it's put in a serving bowl.
Then it's eaten from a plate or a small bowl.

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@oralloy,

Alas Ora you're right. I had hoped by now that BH might have caught on more universally

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@dalehileman,

What, like s.o.b.?

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@McTag,

Quote:

What, like s.o.b.?

Yes Mc I suppose so

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@McTag,

McTag wrote:

Here, rice is cooked in a pot, or a steamer.
Then, it's put in a serving bowl.
Then it's eaten from a plate or a small bowl.

Not at my house.
It goes directly from the pot to the plate.

One less thing to wash.

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@McTag,

Quote:

or a steamer.

Thank you and others~

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I help myself

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