Scotch is whisky made in Scotland, and as an adjective it means Scottish in the names of food and drink: Scotch whisky, Scotch egg. Adhesive tape is called sticky tape or Sellotape (a brand name) in Britain and Scotch tape in the US. On its own, without tape, scotch will be understood as whisky.
scotch: will you get the meaning right?
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a (glass of) Scotch; Scotch + whisky/egg; sticky tape / Sellotape (UK), Scotch tape (US); Scottish (not Scotch) + people/accent
- After dinner, my uncle poured himself a small glass of Scotch and told us about his trip.
- We bought a bottle of single malt Scotch at the airport as a present for my boss.
What changed
First versionI need some scotch to close this box before the courier arrives.
RevisionI need some tape to close this box before the courier arrives.
In several languages, the everyday word for sticky tape comes from the American brand Scotch tape, so scotch can seem like the right word. But without tape, a native speaker hears “I need some whisky to close this box”. For a parcel, tape is enough, and wide tape for boxes is packing tape.
People, accents and towns from Scotland are Scottish: a Scottish accent, Scottish people. Scotch is kept for products: Scotch whisky. Calling a person Scotch, as in He's Scotch, sounds old-fashioned, and many Scots don't like it.
Your turn
The parcel won't stay closed, so I'm going to put some ___ on it.
Show the answer
tape — The parcel needs to be sealed, so you need sticky tape: tape. Scotch without tape means whisky, and you can't seal a box with that.
Describe a souvenir you brought back, or would like to bring back, from Scotland. Say what it is and who it's for.
I brought back a bottle of single malt Scotch from Edinburgh for my father, who collects whisky.
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