Are we losing our language - Chemists vs Pharmacies ?

Growing up we had breakfast, dinner and tea, and anything else we could scrounge. We were allowed to help ourselves to bread and jam or bread and peanut butter, and drinks of milk, during our fast-growing teens.

Perhaps we should abandon both chemist and pharmacist and go back to visiting the apothecary.

I would like to say that, as a REAL chemist, I prefer not to have my coat-tails ridden by these glorified face cream sellers and pill counters who couldn't grignard their way out of a stalled catalyst.

Who on earth are these posters Bagitha?, Absentgrana?, Jeni? This thread is a real blast from the past

Er, welcome to Gransnet, Remiles.
Looking forward to some more acerbic posts from you

I vaguely (very vaguely) remember Grinard Reactions from 'A' level chemstry - the organic bit, I think, remiles. Welcome to GN.

When I was in primary school, we had to tell the teacher what our fathers' (note, fathers') jobs were. One girl was the daughter of the local chemist (pharmaceutical) and my dad was an industrial chemist. We had to make sure everyone knew what was what. But what a humiliating thing to have to do! Luckily there was little or no unemployment at the time and no-one in my class had lost a father in the war, largely because of the huge ICI explosives factory where most dads and uncles worked - and my unmarried aunt.

I see that someone called Annobel made my point around two years ago. We don't really need to dig up these old threads, do we?

anno; my dad was a labourer. I lived in dread of the yearly 'stand up and tell us what your father does' session each year, and was taunted by some of my classmates for years. Don't think I've ever really got over it. Strangely enough it wasn't the girls whose fathers were doctors etc but those whose fathers had slightly beter jobs than my dad. He had been a painter but had to give it up after he had pleuresy [sp].

I hen BOOTS used to call themselves "The cash chemist"!!!

oops, typo should have said I remember when

shows and concerts are now gigs (I admit I do use gig)

bad is good
sick is great

Nonu I thought you meant to say 'I ken Boots used to call themselves.....' and was taken back to my childhood in Scotland for a moment.

AKA Laugh ! x

A former colleague moved to New York and nearly got arrested when she asked if the supermarket sold a nice joint for Sunday!

Language is a living thing and changes and evolves over time. I am surprised to see that someone thought that English teachers did not care about spelling and grammar...it has not been my experience!
The mis-use that irritates me is 'Get off of the grass' etc. Who is this Off ho lives on the grass?

A chemist studies chemistry - a pharmacist dispenses prescribed medication.

So Pharmacy would seem to be a more precise description. Anyway, Chemist replaced apothecary - and I expect people moaned about that...

Yes Feetle
In the days before pharmacists called themselves pharmacists, they called themselves Dispensing Chemists, didn't they.
And when did Ophthalmic Opticians decide they would rather be called Optometrists?

Probably around the time Chiropodists decided they'd rather be called Podiatrists!

And people are "tasked" to carry something out - really annoying.