crackers

[tzfujimino]

Is it OK to call these things "crackers"?
https://www.google.co.jp/search?rlz...hXFOJQKHZgsA0wQBQgkKAA&biw=1280&bih=909&dpr=1

(I know these things are called "Christmas crackers":
https://www.google.co.jp/search?rlz...c.1.64.psy-ab..0.17.984...0i4k1.0.pw5LHIXukHw)

 

[emsr2d2]

I would call them "party poppers".

 

[tzfujimino]

Is the word "cracker" potentially offensive for some people? I'm asking this because I found this:

https://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/american/cracker

 

[emsr2d2]

Well, according to that link, it appears it might be offensive in the US.

 

[Rover_KE]

Yes — they're party poppers. [link]

Our American members will tell us more about your supplementary question when they wake up in a few hours. It's news to me.

 

[emsr2d2]

In BrE, we sometimes say someone is "crackers", to be mean they're nuts/crazy/mad. Some people refer to particularly beautiful women with "She's a cracker" - I don't think it's offensive but I'd probably avoid using it!
Also, there was a Northern Irish comedian, whose name escapes me now, who used to say after a particularly good joke "That's a cracker!" The phrase can still be heard occasionally.

 

[GoesStation]

Cracker was once a somewhat offensive term for certain white people from the American deep South (which is really the southeast). I think it's been a long time since anyone has taken offense at the word, but I don't live in the deep South so I can't be sure.

It's also a perfectly innocuous word in American English for a crisp little wafer often eaten with cheese.

 

[tzfujimino]

Is the word "party popper" also used in the U.S?

 

[Tdol]

Just because a word might be offensive in certain contexts, it does not follow that it will necessarily be offensive in all contexts. I know what cracker can mean, but that does nothing when I open a packet of crackers to go with cheese. A word that can be used in many contexts, like this one, will probably only be offensive in specific contexts. A word that is offensive in any context is one to avoid in all contexts.

 

[SoothingDave]

We don't have "Christmas crackers" in the US.

The others I would call "party poppers."

 

[Tarheel]

What do you have?

Christmas trees, lights, decorations.

What are Christmas crackers?

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Is the word "cracker" potentially offensive for some people? I'm asking this because I found this:

https://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/american/cracker

No, no, no! It's only offensive in that context. When you're talking about a crisp square of wheat-based food, there's nothing offensive about it. At all.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Christmas trees, lights, deorations.

What are Christmas crackers?

Yeah! What are Christmas crackers? I see the images in the page you posted. What's inside the wrappers?

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Is it OK to call these things "crackers"?
https://www.google.co.jp/search?rlz...hXFOJQKHZgsA0wQBQgkKAA&biw=1280&bih=909&dpr=1 . . . .

No. Those aren't crackers. These are crackers:

Crackers

 

[Rover_KE]

Two people grasp an end each and pull until the cracker splits open with a small explosion (the crack).

Typical side-splitting joke found inside:

What breed of cat has eight legs?

An octo-puss.

I sense a gap in the North American market here—you're missing out on so much fun and hilarity over there.:roll: