Each week here at the Australian Writers’ Centre, we dissect and discuss, contort and retort, ask and gasp at the English language and all its rules, regulations and ridiculousness. It’s a celebration of language, masquerading as a passive-aggressive whinge about words and weirdness. This week, you go grill…
Q: Hi AWC, I have a question about cars.
A: Is it word-related or more about carburetors and fuel injection?
Q: Definitely wordy. The front of the car – is it a GRILL or a GRILLE?
A: So you’d like to grill us about “grill” vs “grille”?
Q: Ummm, yes?
A: Okay, well let’s look at the history of both words. They each arrived in English in the late 1600s, from the French “graille” – meaning gridiron.
Q: American football?
A: No – a “gridiron” was a grated utensil for cooking over a fire. Much like the word “griddle” (a shallow pan), these had been around in English for centuries before “grill” came along.
Q: Okay, so why did TWO separate words arrive from the French?
A: Good question. You see, the French had a century earlier decided to split “graille” into two separate terms – masculine and feminine.
Q: So it was a holey graille then? Hahaaa.
A: Hilarious. Anyway, they were masculine “gril” and feminine “grille” – and that’s how they arrived in English – apart from the extra L being added.
Q: How cute. And how did their meanings differ?
A: Once they got off the boat from France, masculine “grill” got busy working in the kitchens, used for those gridiron-type jobs, cooking on a fire and so on. Meanwhile, feminine “grille” was put to work on more ornate jobs – such as defining an “ornamental grating”.
Q: So both are based on the same idea, but one word ended up doing the cooking while the other looked pretty?
A: Yeah, that’s it. Which brings us to your question.
Q: It does.
A: For the same reasons as above, the front of a car is typically known as the GRILLE – with the “e”. This differentiates it from say, your barbecue GRILL.
Q: So anything to do with food these days is “grill”?
A: Yep.
Q: And anything to do with decoration is “grille”?
A: Essentially, yes. Macquarie Dictionary’s various meanings for “grille” include “a lattice or openwork screen, as a window or gate”, “a grating or screen in a ventilation system”, “a protective lattice on a helmet” and “an ornamental metal screen at the front of a motor vehicle”.
Q: So if I see the front of a car written as “grill”, is it incorrect?
A: That’s right. It should indeed be “grille”!
Q: Thanks! So it’s definitely NOT a British vs American thing?
A: Nope. Some mistakenly think this, but the above rules hold true for everywhere. One thing to watch out for however is restaurants that might typically be called a “bar and grill” trying to get fancy by using “grille” – much like a shop might use “shoppe”. It’s just marketing.
Q: Good to know. Any other fun facts?
A: Well, the verb “grill” – as in to interrogate someone – dates back to 1894. And just two years later, in 1896, “gridiron” was the first used to describe the sport – in relation to the lines on the field looking like that original namesake cooking surface.
Q: Any Bear Grylls facts?
A: Um, sure. His real name is Edward, he has a black belt in karate, and he would probably grill a bear to survive.
Q: All this talk of grilling reminds me of when my uncle Larry put his BBQ on the roof and insisted on cooking up there.
A: Sounds dangerous!
Q: Absolutely – the steaks were high! Bahahaha.
A: Get out.
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