Talk:Entrée

Salad Picture

To someone who doesn't know what an appetizer is, a picture of a salad is very misleading. Maybe a steak? While the caption explains the salad, the picture is needlessly confusing and out of place in this article (also, most people don't read captions).

Broader Dialect Groupings

I've changed British and Australian to Commonwealth because I believe this is the use in all non-North American dialects. I've also changed American to North American because the term is also so used in Canada. - Jim 22Apr05

You have introduced a contradiction since Canadian English is included in Commonwealth English. As a side note, the use of entrée for main course is not universal accross North America. In particular in the mostly French speaking province of Quebec, the local English population uses the term entrée in the same way as that the French and non-North American English speakers do. Kilrogg 23:11, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

Ambiguity deleted. --JackLumber 22:36, 3 May 2006 (UTC)

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Whilst I have NOT changed the content of the page this discussion is attached to. I do question the term North American English, surely it should be North American or English. Better still North American or Commonwealth English on the grounds that I am sure no member of the Commonwealth (in recent years) would regard the American language as the same as the English language; they have become totally different.

I also question "In North American English, an entrée is the main course, following now-obsolete French usage". Who said the French usage was now-obsolete, certainly I do not believe it was the French - or the (Commonwealth) English for that matter. Another reason to differentiate between American and English (or Commonwaelth English) perhaps. – Mark (half French, half English), 3rd January 2006.

In restaurants in France today, "entrée" means a first course, served before the "plat principal" and after the "hors d'oeuvre" or "amuse-bouche" if any. I do not believe it ever means the main course nowadays. However, it has meant that in the past (sorry, I don't have my French dictionaries handy here). --Macrakis 16:07, 3 January 2006 (UTC)

I'm a member of the Commonwealth, and I regard the American language as a dialect of English. English language describes 'English' as "a West Germanic language that is spoken in Australia, Canada, India, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, the United Kingdom, the United States, and many other countries." See also American English, which refers to "the dialect of the English language used mostly in the United States of America".

Describing it as "totally different" to Commonwealth English is hyperbole at best. There are certainly differences (for instance, American English has preserved certain older spellings that Commonwealth English abandoned), but speakers of one dialect have little difficulty making themselves understood by the other. --Calair 01:27, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

To Macrakis: Could you please provide evidence that "entrée" in older french was used for the main course? The etymology suggests that it was meant to mean "starter" or "opening dish" from the beginning. Thanks. --tonis1 06:35, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

usage of entree / urban myth

is there anything to substantiate that the usage of entree in the US describing the main course has to do with the fact that the portions are so big that after the entree there is no desire for a main course?

Noserider (talk) 14:16, 21 May 2009 (UTC)

Disambiguation

It's also an acronym for European Network for Training and Research in Electrical Engineering. How do we do a disambiguation? - Tony

Contradiction (UK usage)

The first paragraph says this course is called a starter in the UK; the next section says it's called a starter (among other things) in the US and an entrée elsewhere.

I live in the UK and "starter" is the generally accepted term here. "Entrée" isn't widely used in my experience, and would probably be regarded as pretentious in many circumstances (akin to saying "pommes frites" when you really mean chips). This term may be used at more expensive restaurants, but certainly not at the typical curry house, steak house or Chinese restaurant that the average Brit would dine out in. 217.155.20.163 (talk) 19:53, 11 December 2007 (UTC)

Sharing an entree -- rude or not?

In the July 15, 2008 Nintendo Wii Everybody Votes Channel results, 81.4% of Americans believe it isn't rude to share an entrée. Other countries may have different views, but which ones??? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 205.214.244.25 (talk) 12:39, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

Contradiction (US usage)

The first paragraph correctly says that in North America (at least the English-speaking part), the course that the French call an entrée is called a first course, appetizer, or starter. (In my experience, the most common U.S. usage is "appetizer," though the other two terms are also used. In Britain, "starter" is the most common.) However, in the third paragraph of the "Origins" section, it's repeatedly said (without attribution) that in American usage the course is called the hors d'oeuvre. This is quite wrong; in the U.S., hors d'oeuvres are much the same as they are in France: not the first course of the meal, but small bites preceding a meal, usually passed by waiters or laid out on a buffet, though conceivably but rarely presented at the table itself. Wbkelley (talk) 02:40, 15 October 2009 (UTC)