Problem
Can you count to two, and four? Yes. So can most people. The British, and most westerners, like even numbers. In England you buy a dozen roses. Not a baker's dozen, thirteen which guarded against the risk of being hanged for short changing a customer by giving him food under weight. Let's look on the bright side. A dozen roses. If you can't afford a dozen, half a dozen roses.
The British used to have a dinner service of 12 dinner plates. Thirteen was unlucky because it reminds you of the last supper. 13 had supper. Only twelve survived the night.
Supermarkets sell eggs in boxes of six. Every now and then a manufactuere tries to reduce the number to 5. Howls of outrage.
Four would be okay. You can sell a set of four cups and saucers. For two couples. Or two cups. For one couple. Or a single person and a date or a guest, a friend.
But you can never sell five cups nor three. One person would be left out of the conversation. Five cups? Even in a charity shop, you must reduce the price of a set of five cups with six saucers. The British buyer thinks: I have been short changed. There should be six, an even number.
A supermarket can sell a customer: 'Buy two, get one free.' But you can't sell three. It looks like the retailer bought sets of four from the wholesaler and is cheating the customer.
Restaurant Tables For Two and Four
Restaurants have tables for two and tables for four. You can't sit three people at a table for four. That looks as if you are cheating the restaurant of a fourth setting.
Waiters don't like it. The restaurant manager loses the sale of a meal. The waiter has a reduced tip.
Even in an empty restaurant. An imaginary group of four might materialised out of the cloud, in an empty restaurant, and want to choose that table. That table is reserved.
You might try to move to a table for two. As the waiter said, it is small. You will cope. Then you try to move a chair from a table for four, to convert a table for two into a table for three.
Watch what happens. The waiter says, "You can't do that!"
"Why not?"
"My staff can't get past. We might have an accident. It's a table for two. It's two small for three."
They Are Odd, In the East
In the East, they like odd numbers.
Japanese Tea Sets
When I was teaching English conversation to a Japanese lady she served tea, two cups from a set of five. The Japanese have tea sets with five cups. "In England we have six tea cups," I told her.
"Why do you have five," I asked her. "
"Ah, so. Four guests. Plus hostess to serve them. Five."
She thought:
"Why do you have six?"
A generation or two ago, families would serve 12 people. Now we have smaller families, and sets of six.
Three Samosas
The menu of the new Sakonis vegetarian Indian restaurant in Hatch End, North London, offered vegetarian samosas (3).
Samosas are trangular pastry cases with various fillings.
Ordering Four
I supposed we could have ordered two, portions, making six, one per person and two spares.
My husband refused. He was the man in charge of ordering and he wanted several different dishes. "I'm not going to order two plates of the same dish. Besides, it's two much food. That would be wasteful."
When ordering, we asked if they could make four. Our server went to the kitchen to ask if the cook could make that 4 pieces.
Yes.
However, we got three. We were served three samosas between four people.
Another 'small plate' which we had potato bajis, balls like dumplings, as a starter was also three pieces.
Divisions
The division of the samosas created divisions amongst the customers.
We divided the first two Samosas into half,, one half for each per person.
The potato bajis, balls like dumplings, are also served as three pieces. We often eat as a threesome. but in a foursome this is odd.
The restaurant could reduce the portion to two and give you three if they see three people, forcing you to order two plates for four people. I hope they don't. Maybe we should just keep quiet!
This is not the first time I have found a discrepancy. After a meal in a restaurant, when they present chocolates of bisucits with the coffeee or the bill, I worry, how many chocolates will you get?
Chocolates
I've had this problem before with chocolates, chocolates at restaurants, and chocolates in hotels.
Chocolates in Hotels
Two or three times I've been in hotels which offer a turn down service. They don't seem to co-ordinate with the desk to find out that two people are sharing a room. So we get one bathrobe between two. We get one pair of slipers between two. Plus one bath towel between two.
Finally, one chocolate between two. Since we both like chocolate, this could be a problem.
Supposing the chocolate is on one side of the bed, and the person on that side eats it, thinking that there must be one the other side, or that the other person has already eaten theirs.
I remember, one one occasion, after a tiring day, the missing chocolate was 'the last straw'. I phoned down to housekeeping. I asked, "Is it possible to have another chocolate?"
A voice replied, "Another chocolate?"
"Yes," I replied, trying to sound light hearted. "Two of us had one chocolate. If either of us eats it, the other person will commit murder. Can you send up a second chocolate? It will save an aful lot of trouble for us, and you."
"You want another chocolate?"
"Yes. Please."
"Anything else, Madam?"
"Yes, another bathrobe. We have one between two. And another bath towel. And another pair of towelling slippers. I'm fed up with hopping about wearing one."
"A chocolate. A Bathrobe. A bath towel. And a pair of towelling slippers?"
"Yes, please, that would be delightful."
PS Flower Numbers In Russia and Romania
In Russia, Romania and Slavic countries you send even numbers of flowers to a funeral. You send odd numbers for a bride or a gift for living people.
Flower Numbers In Singapore
The same applies in Singapore where a bride carries seven flowers. (However in Singapore gifts of money are given in multiple numbers of lucky eight. The number four is unlucky because it sounds like the word for death. House numbers and motorbike numbers with eight are favoured.)
Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. I have many posts on language and destinations in Romania and Singapore. Please share links to your favourite posts.
Can you count to two, and four? Yes. So can most people. The British, and most westerners, like even numbers. In England you buy a dozen roses. Not a baker's dozen, thirteen which guarded against the risk of being hanged for short changing a customer by giving him food under weight. Let's look on the bright side. A dozen roses. If you can't afford a dozen, half a dozen roses.
The British used to have a dinner service of 12 dinner plates. Thirteen was unlucky because it reminds you of the last supper. 13 had supper. Only twelve survived the night.
Supermarkets sell eggs in boxes of six. Every now and then a manufactuere tries to reduce the number to 5. Howls of outrage.
Four would be okay. You can sell a set of four cups and saucers. For two couples. Or two cups. For one couple. Or a single person and a date or a guest, a friend.
But you can never sell five cups nor three. One person would be left out of the conversation. Five cups? Even in a charity shop, you must reduce the price of a set of five cups with six saucers. The British buyer thinks: I have been short changed. There should be six, an even number.
A supermarket can sell a customer: 'Buy two, get one free.' But you can't sell three. It looks like the retailer bought sets of four from the wholesaler and is cheating the customer.
Restaurant Tables For Two and Four
Restaurants have tables for two and tables for four. You can't sit three people at a table for four. That looks as if you are cheating the restaurant of a fourth setting.
Waiters don't like it. The restaurant manager loses the sale of a meal. The waiter has a reduced tip.
Even in an empty restaurant. An imaginary group of four might materialised out of the cloud, in an empty restaurant, and want to choose that table. That table is reserved.
You might try to move to a table for two. As the waiter said, it is small. You will cope. Then you try to move a chair from a table for four, to convert a table for two into a table for three.
Watch what happens. The waiter says, "You can't do that!"
"Why not?"
"My staff can't get past. We might have an accident. It's a table for two. It's two small for three."
They Are Odd, In the East
In the East, they like odd numbers.
Japanese Tea Sets
When I was teaching English conversation to a Japanese lady she served tea, two cups from a set of five. The Japanese have tea sets with five cups. "In England we have six tea cups," I told her.
"Why do you have five," I asked her. "
"Ah, so. Four guests. Plus hostess to serve them. Five."
She thought:
"Why do you have six?"
A generation or two ago, families would serve 12 people. Now we have smaller families, and sets of six.
Three Samosas
The menu of the new Sakonis vegetarian Indian restaurant in Hatch End, North London, offered vegetarian samosas (3).
Samosas are trangular pastry cases with various fillings.
Ordering Four
I supposed we could have ordered two, portions, making six, one per person and two spares.
My husband refused. He was the man in charge of ordering and he wanted several different dishes. "I'm not going to order two plates of the same dish. Besides, it's two much food. That would be wasteful."
When ordering, we asked if they could make four. Our server went to the kitchen to ask if the cook could make that 4 pieces.
Yes.
However, we got three. We were served three samosas between four people.
Another 'small plate' which we had potato bajis, balls like dumplings, as a starter was also three pieces.
Divisions
The division of the samosas created divisions amongst the customers.
We divided the first two Samosas into half,, one half for each per person.
The potato bajis, balls like dumplings, are also served as three pieces. We often eat as a threesome. but in a foursome this is odd.
The restaurant could reduce the portion to two and give you three if they see three people, forcing you to order two plates for four people. I hope they don't. Maybe we should just keep quiet!
This is not the first time I have found a discrepancy. After a meal in a restaurant, when they present chocolates of bisucits with the coffeee or the bill, I worry, how many chocolates will you get?
Chocolates
I've had this problem before with chocolates, chocolates at restaurants, and chocolates in hotels.
Chocolates in Hotels
Two or three times I've been in hotels which offer a turn down service. They don't seem to co-ordinate with the desk to find out that two people are sharing a room. So we get one bathrobe between two. We get one pair of slipers between two. Plus one bath towel between two.
Finally, one chocolate between two. Since we both like chocolate, this could be a problem.
Supposing the chocolate is on one side of the bed, and the person on that side eats it, thinking that there must be one the other side, or that the other person has already eaten theirs.
I remember, one one occasion, after a tiring day, the missing chocolate was 'the last straw'. I phoned down to housekeeping. I asked, "Is it possible to have another chocolate?"
A voice replied, "Another chocolate?"
"Yes," I replied, trying to sound light hearted. "Two of us had one chocolate. If either of us eats it, the other person will commit murder. Can you send up a second chocolate? It will save an aful lot of trouble for us, and you."
"You want another chocolate?"
"Yes. Please."
"Anything else, Madam?"
"Yes, another bathrobe. We have one between two. And another bath towel. And another pair of towelling slippers. I'm fed up with hopping about wearing one."
"A chocolate. A Bathrobe. A bath towel. And a pair of towelling slippers?"
"Yes, please, that would be delightful."
PS Flower Numbers In Russia and Romania
In Russia, Romania and Slavic countries you send even numbers of flowers to a funeral. You send odd numbers for a bride or a gift for living people.
Flower Numbers In Singapore
The same applies in Singapore where a bride carries seven flowers. (However in Singapore gifts of money are given in multiple numbers of lucky eight. The number four is unlucky because it sounds like the word for death. House numbers and motorbike numbers with eight are favoured.)
Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. I have many posts on language and destinations in Romania and Singapore. Please share links to your favourite posts.
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