Bag v.s. Sack

Hi,

Which is the most common term in the US/UK, bag or sack?

I used to say a 'bag'. However, once in a (grocery or grocery shop...I’m not sure) the (again, I don't know what to call her... the seller maybe?) asked me if I wanted a 'sack. Honestly, I didn't know what that's supposed to mean but thank god she pointed to what I knew as a 'bag’ while asking me. :)

If I’ve made any mistake, please correct me friends.

Thanx.

I'd call it a ''bag''. I think that's more common than ''sack''.

They decribe shopping bags as sacks? Interesting haven't heard that used here.

In some places. But "bag" is far more common.

Bag is more common in the US and the "seller" would be called a salesperson or sales clerk. In the US I think most people refer to grocery stores as supermarkets. I think in England they call them shops but the British will be able to help you with that.

<<Honestly, I didn't know what that's supposed to mean but thank god she pointed to what I knew as a 'bag’ while asking me. :) >

Nothing like sign language.:)

I use "grocery store" pretty often myself, and "supermarket" rarely. Personal taste, I suppose.

<<I use "grocery store" pretty often myself, and "supermarket" rarely. Personal taste, I suppose.>>

Really I thought "grocery store" was an old-fashioned term. I use it sometimes as well and then I drop the store and just say, "Im going to the grocery." It really is less of a mouthful but most people seem to say supermarket. I may be wrong and if I am, no doubt I'll find out. :)

It depends on size! It would have to be an extremely large bag to be described as a sack. Also single fronted premises would normally be decribed as shops, larger premises are often called stores. I would call the woman serving you "the bird at the till"!

Re: "Bag" and "Sack:" I basically agree with Rick that the semantic distinction between the two words largely has to do with size. However language is not a perfect or precise medium of communication . In colloquial speech, the two words are sometimes interchangeable. For example, we hear both LUNCH SACK and LUNCH BAG. Even these are not definitive terms; two different people may even have slightly different concepts about what a "lunch sack" is as seen below:

http://www.catgifts.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=20111&Category_Code=Children

and

www.warmcompany.com/Projects/lunchsack.pdf

Around here, the most commonly used term seems to be "grocery store", or just "store" for short (which store one is talking about can usually be gotten by context); at least to me, "supermarket" sounds more like a marketing-type term rather than a term that I actually hear people in Real Life use much.

A small corner shop is known as a 'Dairy' while some people here would refer to a Department Store as a 'Mega(Shop/Store)'.

Re: 'Dairy' & Megashop / store

New words (Neologisms) are constantly being created in most languages. Right now I would say that these words are still 'regionalisms' since I have not heard them used in the Seattle area.

<<A small corner shop is known as a 'Dairy' while some people here would refer to a Department Store as a 'Mega(Shop/Store)'.>>

In the UK a corner shop is called exactly that, yje "corner shop". In Australia they're often curiously known as "milk bars". The only place I've ever heard "dairy" used before is in New Zealand.

"yje"= typo, should read "the"

Well, we have dairies, Rick, but we keep cows in them. ;)