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Are we losing our language - Chemists vs Pharmacies ?

(96 Posts)
BetsyTrotwood Sun 17-Jul-11 15:17:01

Can anyone explain why chemists no longer seem to exist? Every other chemist shop on every high street in England seems to have morphed into a "pharmacy"? Even Boots no longer calls itself "Boots the Chemists" which is was known as for decades. When did the change start? And why? What's the difference between a chemist and a pharmacist?

Eloethan Sun 10-Nov-13 20:17:54

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

Ana Sun 10-Nov-13 17:05:49

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

janeainsworth Sun 10-Nov-13 16:46:37

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?

feetlebaum Sun 10-Nov-13 16:09:02

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...

Penstemmon Sun 10-Nov-13 16:05:25

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? confused

Nonu Sun 10-Nov-13 15:36:43

AKA Laugh ! x

Aka Sun 10-Nov-13 15:30:30

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.

Flowerofthewest Sun 10-Nov-13 15:29:07

bad is good
sick is great

Flowerofthewest Sun 10-Nov-13 15:26:19

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

Nonu Sun 10-Nov-13 15:20:41

oops, typo should have said I remember when

Nonu Sun 10-Nov-13 15:18:40

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

Tegan Sun 10-Nov-13 15:09:24

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].

annodomini Sun 10-Nov-13 14:56:05

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?

annodomini Sun 10-Nov-13 14:52:22

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.

Aka Sun 10-Nov-13 14:43:13

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

janeainsworth Sun 10-Nov-13 14:06:26

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

Granny23 Sun 10-Nov-13 06:59:30

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

remiles Sun 10-Nov-13 06:47:05

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.

absentgrana Mon 06-Feb-12 09:59:53

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

bagitha Mon 06-Feb-12 06:45:21

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.

bagitha Mon 06-Feb-12 06:43:07

I have a dewbit (cross ref. Thomas Hardy, ^Jude the Obscure^), then breakfast, then elevenses, then lunch, then an afternoon pickmeup (non-alcoholic; usually coffee and a snackeroo), then dinner (one course), then a cup of 'evening tea' (blueberry at present). Six small eateries a day. I guess I'm what is called a grazer.

Just had my dewbit: coffee, flapjack (homemade, very nutty), cup of raspberry leaf tea.

jeni Sun 05-Feb-12 21:56:22

Oh I forgot at my Grannies, High tea!

Carol Sun 05-Feb-12 21:49:25

Breakfast, elevenses, dinner, tea, supper - Manchester style!

jeni Sun 05-Feb-12 21:41:30

Einnie?

gracesmum Sun 05-Feb-12 21:37:55

Elevenses - not there's a nice, cosy expression - reminds me of Einnie the Pooh and "a little something"...smile