Can I have a "Kleenex"?

[EngFan]

Dear all,

As I learnt that ppl in some countries would say "Can I have a Kleenex?" instead of "Can I have a tissue?", I wanted to know which countries are commonly use the word "Kleenex" instead of "Tissue"? Please advise!

EngFan

 

[Barb_D]

You will hear that in the US, but you will also hear "tissue."

 

[alenjones23]

Kleenex is a brand name for a variety of paper-based products, oftenly used in United States. Kleenex products are manufactured in 30 countries and sold in more than 170, so you can get this product anywhere, most probably around USA.

 

[EngFan]

How about in UK?

 

[Rover_KE]

How about in UK?

'Kleenex' and 'tissue' are both commonly heard here.

Rover

 

[emsr2d2]

'Kleenex' and 'tissue' are both commonly heard here.

Rover

Really? I was just about to reply and say that we use "tissue" and some people say "paper handkerchief" but that "Kleenex" is not one of those brand names that has now become the generic name for a product.

A few years ago, I was attending a talk when the American woman sitting next to me whispered something (in fact, she barely whispered it, she just mouthed it). I couldn't work out what it was so I asked her to repeat it. I managed to work out that it was "Do you have a ...?" but I couldn't fathom the third word. After two more attempts she pointed to her nose and gestured that she needed to wipe it. Aha! I reached into my bag and gave her a tissue. At the end of the meeting, I apologised to her for not knowing what she wanted and said "I'm still not really sure what you were actually saying at the end of the sentence." She looked surprised and said "I asked if you had a Kleenex", so I explained that that was why I hadn't been able to work it out, that I would expect the question "Do you have a tissue?"

 

[5jj]

Really? I was just about to reply and say that we use "tissue" and some people say "paper handkerchief" but that "Kleenex" is not one of those brand names that has now become the generic name for a product.

I'm with Rover. I never use the revolting things, which are not up to the blasting power of my conk, but I have often heard Brits with pathetic blows, sad little sneezes and indiscernible drips refer to 'Kleenex'.

 

[Tdol]

Maybe I'm a conk-weed, but I use Kleenex sometimes in that sense.

 

[TheParser]

NOT A TEACHER


Hello, EngFan:

Since you are a fan of English, may I most respectfully remind you of something: a Kleenex or kleenex does not

exist in this world.

A company called Kimberly-Clark works very hard to remind us that "Kleenex" is the name of a tissue that they make.

The company is very upset when people say, "May I have a Kleenex/kleenex?"

If you want to make them happy (and to obey trademark laws), you should ask:

May I have a Kleenex tissue, please?

****

Yes, in the "real world," few people add the word "tissue." But if you ever need to write such a sentence in a formal

report, it would be wonderful if you made Kimberly-Clark happy. I have just wiped my nose with a Sofitelle facial tissue,

not a Kleenex tissue.

 

[5jj]

A company called Kimberly-Clark works very hard to remind us that "Kleenex" is the name of a tissue that they make.

And they fail dismally, as Hoover. Sellotape (in Britain) and many other companies failed. My mother proudly informed me once that she had bought a new Dyson hoover.

The company is very upset when people say, "May I have a Kleenex/kleenex?"

My hearts bleeds for them, and for the millions of dollars they make from our using their name for their mucus wraps.

If you want to make them happy (and to obey trademark laws) and sound very unnatural, you should ask: May I have a Kleenex tissue, please?

If you don't want to promote the name of the manufacturer, then I suggest you do the natural thing and ask for a tissue. If you do use the name 'Kleenex' in your oral request, you are not breaking any trademark laws.

 

[SoothingDave]

And Jello and Xerox.

Yes, patent attorneys remind us all that trade names should always be used as adjectives and not as nouns or verbs.

Real people do not always listen, but if you were writing a newspaper or magazine, you would have to pay more attention to such things.

 

[emsr2d2]

And Jello and Xerox.

Yes, patent attorneys remind us all that trade names should always be used as adjectives and not as nouns or verbs.

Real people do not always listen, but if you were writing a newspaper or magazine, you would have to pay more attention to such things.

I think the "brand names becoming generic names" aspect of the language is more prevalent in the US. In the UK, we don't use "Jello", we just call it "jelly" (I'm not going into the difference between jelly and jam here!) We say "photocopy", not "Xerox".

The main ones in the UK are Hoover (and yes, I am one of the people who writes it with a lower case "h" and would say, as 5jj's mother once did, "I've bought a Dyson hoover"), when we mean "vacuum cleaner", Sellotape to mean just about any sticky tape, and Tippex for any liquid white-out. I know a few people who think only one brand of sat-nav exists and will say "Do you have a TomTom?" - they don't actually care what brand, they just want to know if someone has sat-nav.

 

[SoothingDave]

Funny that you call "Tippex" a form of "white-out," because "Wite-out" is a registered trademark! Their lawyers would tell you that you should call it "correction fluid" in the generic.

I find "sat-nav" interesting as well. We just call it a GPS.

 

[emsr2d2]

Funny that you call "Tippex" a form of "white-out," because "Wite-out" is a registered trademark! Their lawyers would tell you that you should call it "correction fluid" in the generic.

I find "sat-nav" interesting as well. We just call it a GPS.

Ah, yes, "correcting fluid" - that's actually the term I was trying to think of but it just wouldn't come so I called it white-out. I don't think I knew that was a brand name in the US.

I think the split between sat-nav and GPS is probably fairly even here. I happen to call mine my sat-nav so that's what I used.

 

[CarloSsS]

The main ones in the UK are Hoover (and yes, I am one of the people who writes it with a lower case "h" and would say, as 5jj's mother once did, "I've bought a Dyson hoover"), when we mean "vacuum cleaner", Sellotape to mean just about any sticky tape, and Tippex for any liquid white-out. I know a few people who think only one brand of sat-nav exists and will say "Do you have a TomTom?" - they don't actually care what brand, they just want to know if someone has sat-nav.

I think that Biro is also one of the main ones used in BrE.

One question, what is the correct way of writing these nouns? With a capital initial letter or in lower case?

 

[5jj]

I think that Biro is also one of the main ones used in BrE.

It was when i was younger, but I think most people just use 'pen' nowadays.

 

[SoothingDave]

O

ne question, what is the correct way of writing these nouns? With a capital initial letter or in lower case?​

That's the problem with trademark erosion, which is why the lawyers tell you to always use the brand names as adjectives (and capitalized, of course!)

When your brand name becomes so common as to typify a product, the name evolves into a lowercase. Both "aspirin" and "heroin" were originally trademarks.

 

[5jj]

Aspirin still is a trademark in some countries.

 

[Rover_KE]

I think that Biro is also one of the main ones used in BrE.

One question, what is the correct way of writing these nouns? With a capital initial letter or in lower case?

Write them in lower case, unless there is a good reason to use capitals.

'I'm going to hoover the stairs.'

'I'm going to buy a new vacuum cleaner—a Dyson or a Hoover.'

Rover