"wallet or purse"

[Odessa Dawn]

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"You find yourself staring into the cupboards, gazing in to the fridge, rummaging through the recesses of your wallet or purse. You find nothing. No comfort food. Not a snack in sight; just some aged cake mix, a suspicious-looking yoghurt and a bundle of old receipts."

More: Make your money go as far as possible

The writer used "wallet or purse" over here since the reader is unknown. In other words, the reader could be a male or a female. Am I right?

purse n ((BAG)) - definition in American English Dictionary - Cambridge Dictionary Online

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[emsr2d2]

Yes. In BrE, men usually use a wallet and women use a purse (although women might have a wallet too). In AmE, a purse is what in BrE is called a handbag.

 

[5jj]

No. In British English, wallets are more associated with men and purses with women, but men can have purses and women wallets.


Ah, I see that ems posted while I was writing this, and we disagree. All I can say is that both my wife and I have wallets and purses, none of them being handbags,

 

[MartinEnglish]

Also a (man's) wallet usually contains money, credit cards, perhaps some ID etc, whereas a (woman's) handbag usually contains everything including the kitchen sink.

(I'll duck now)

 

[5jj]

In British English, a woman's handbag often contains, among other things, a purse (or wallet)

 

[emsr2d2]

I would say it's quite unusual for a man to have a purse, though I am aware that some do. Both sexes use wallets. There is a difference in the description of them:

A man's wallet is usually a simple leather folding object, with perhaps a few slots for credit cards, and the main part holds notes. They rarely hold coins. This is a photo of this type of wallet.

A woman's purse is usually a small container with either a zip or a snap-closer, which is designed to hold coins and is perhaps large enough for a couple of credit cards and folded notes. This is a photo of this type of purse. This is sometimes known as a coin purse.

A woman's wallet folds like a man's wallet but usually has an extra section for coins (so they don't have to carry the coin purse as well) and frequently closes with a press-stud fastener. This is a photo of this type of wallet.

As I said, if a speaker of AmE says "purse", then they are talking about the thing which in BrE, is a "handbag".

 

[5jj]

No disagreement with anything ems said in post #6 after the first clause. I concede that far more men have a wallet than a purse; I also think that men's purses are disappearing. This is largely because men carry coins around far less than they used to. When I was a student, I would often go out for a few drinks with only coins in my purse. A ten-shilling (50p) note was a rare treasure - in my student days it would buy fifty cigarettes, seven pints of beer, or just under two and a half gallons (just over eleven litres) of petrol.

In the Czech Republic we still have more coins per head of population than in the UK, and some of us old fogeys still carry purses.

 

[emsr2d2]

No disagreement with anything ems said in post #6 after the first clause. I concede that far more men have a wallet than a purse; I also think that men's purses are disappearing. This is largely because men carry coins around far less than they used to. When I was a student, I would often go out for a few drinks with only coins in my purse. A ten-shilling (50p) note was a rare treasure - in my student days it would buy fifty cigarettes, seven pints of beer, or just under two and a half gallons (just over eleven litres) of petrol.

In the Czech Republic we still have more coins per head of population than in the UK, and some of us old fogeys still carry purses.

My dad came back from a holiday in Italy with a leather "manbag" or "man purse". I couldn't find a decent picture of it though this is the closest. It was about A6 size and had a wrist strap and several pockets. My mum refused to be seen out with him when he was carrying it!

Fifty ciggies, seven pints of beer and two and half gallons of petrol?! Wow. That must have been a good night out! ;-)

 

[5jj]

Fifty ciggies, seven pints of beer and two and half gallons of petrol?! Wow. That must have been a good night out! ;-)

The conjunction was or, not and.

Mind you, I could put a gallon of petrol in my car, drive my bird to the flea-pit, pay for both seats in the snogging row, buy myself ten Woodies, go to the pub and buy me a pint of beer and her a half of shandy - and do the whole thing on twelve bob.

Learners - ignore that. It's just what old people do when somebody pushes the right button

 

[aliciaklein]

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